Overview

More than 38,300 homes and businesses in Gary, Indiana, lost power due to storms on Aug. 11. Thirteen days later, some were still without electricity, prompting frustration from residents and local officials.

Kimya Williams, 50, said the prolonged outage reminded her of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. She initially planned to stay in her home but left for Indianapolis to stay with her children because the darkness became overwhelming. "It was too triggering. It was too dark," she said.

Williams tried to save her food using a car battery and an inverter, but the food spoiled anyway. Her house now smells of mold and mildew. Erin Carreon, a white resident and doctoral student, said she too has been without power and pointed to white flight and steel factory closures as long-term causes of the city's disinvestment.

Mayor's Response

Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called the pace of restoration "unacceptable" on Sunday, the 12th day after the storms. "We're at day 12 and 12 days is too long for families to be without power, 12 days is too long for parents to worry about their children and for businesses to lose revenue," Melton said in an update to the community.

Utility Efforts and Official Response

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO), the region's electricity provider, reported that more than 370,000 customers lost power, with over 364,000 having service restored as of Monday. The company said remaining customers should have power back by Tuesday. "Our teams are assigned to outages large and small," the company said in a statement. "No outage is being overlooked, and no customer will be left behind as we continue this restoration effort."

A lawsuit filed in Porter County accuses NIPSCO of negligence in vegetation management. NIPSCO disputes the claim and has said it will "vigorously defend" itself. The process is overseen by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has directed an investigation into NIPSCO's preparation and response, including its vegetation maintenance and use of funds.

Broader Context

Gary, one of the poorest and blackest cities in America, has experienced decades of disinvestment. According to the 2024 Census, 55,000 of its 69,000 residents are Black, and over 29% live in poverty. The city's median household income is $40,752, compared to $71,959 for the rest of the state.

Expert Stephen Pantano noted that wealthier people have more options during disasters. Meanwhile, about 34,000 customers in Memphis, a majority-Black city, were still without power as of late Monday after separate storms hit on Saturday, according to Memphis Light, Gas and Water, which said that figure represents less than 8% of its customers.