Michigan Among Worst States For Power Outages In The Country

You don't realize how dependent you are on your electricity until it goes out. A few weeks back, my house lost power during one of the many storms that have rocked West Michigan this year, and I don't think it has been so quiet in my house for ages.

On top of it being dark, the food in your fridge and freezer slowly thaws and it's an entire ordeal. When it happens once and a while, it's an annoyance. However, apparently Michigan is a pretty frequent offender in the power outage department, so much so that we're among the top three worst power grids in the US.

In The Dark

Power outages go beyond just creating an inconvenience. For people who rely on machines to live, having no power could mean life and death. A report by BridgeMI found that Michigan has had 174 power outages that have lasted more than 8 hours since 2000, far above the rest of the country. 

On top of that, three counties (Alcona County, Berrien County, and Cass County), have had more than 50 power outages that have lasted 8 hours or more. Shockingly, despite its heavy amount of snowfall, Houghton is the only county in all of Michigan that has had no major power outages in the last 5 years.

As for why we have so many power outages, there isn't one clear answer. Michigan is known for its bad winters, but it could be a deeper issue stemming from the utility companies that run most of Michigan's electricity.