Power lines along SR 14 were knocked over during last night’s storm. Photo provided by Christy Phend.

News Release

COLUMBIA CITY — Monday night’s storms brought record-breaking winds to the Northeastern REMC service area, leaving more than 10,000 without power Tuesday morning.

NREMC, a member-owned electric cooperative powering six counties in Northeast Indiana, sent their crews to begin replacing poles and clearing downed power lines as soon as it was safe to do so late Monday night. The storm, with reported 98 mph winds in Fort Wayne, has caused considerable damage to the transmission lines from American Electric Power that feed into the substations in NREMC’s service territory.

NREMC has confirmed that seven out of the 16 total substations are offline due to damage to the transmission lines. These substations reduce the transmission power to a level that can be distributed to members’ homes.

“The simple fact is that AEP has been hit just as badly as we have by these storms. But, we’re all connected, and everyone works together to bring power to our area,” said Eric Jung, CEO of NREMC. He continued, “We have had crews out all night working to repair the system in order to restore service to several thousand members. We are at a point where we will be unable to bring large numbers of members on without restoration of the transmission lines.”

Many roads in Whitley and Allen County are closed due to downed power lines. Photo provided by Christy Phend.

NREMC is urging members to contact 911 if they see downed power lines and to consider all fallen wires to be energized, regardless of whether or not they appear to be safe. Many Whitley and Allen County roads are currently closed to keep the public safe and away from danger.

Due to the expected high temperatures in the area today, NREMC is providing a cooling station at their headquarters in Columbia City from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Water and restrooms are available for those who need them.

Updates will be provided on NREMC’s Facebook page at facebook.com/nremc. In addition, NREMC’s outage map is also available on their website at nremc.com.

Northeastern Rural Electric Membership Corporation, headquartered in Columbia City, is a member-owned cooperative that supplies electric power to members in portions of Allen, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble, Wabash and Whitley counties in Northeastern Indiana. Approximately 30,000 households and businesses receive power from NREMC. For more information about the cooperative, visit www.nremc.com.

Pictured are fallen power lines along Yellow River Road. Picture provided by Christy Phend.