The frustration level is pretty high for some Northwest Indiana residents who are still dealing with power outages, 8 days after storms blew through.
This morning, NIPSCO reported about 87-thousand customers were still without power.
Many in the Miller Beach neighborhood near the lakefront in Gary, saw power restored on Tuesday.
But not all. There's still the sound of generators in the neighborhood. Large trees are down all over the place and crews have yet to remove trees from power lines in some areas.
Cardarius Holden was walking on Lake Street late this morning.
He said power at his home had yet to be restored. Asked about his frustration level, he said "a thousand," with a laugh.
He's taking it in stride. "It's been real rough these last few days," he said. "We do the best we can to try to get through it, that's all we can do."
Down Lake Street, on the commercial strip, Annie Helsel had a generator supplying some power at her hair salon.
Her home nearby had no power.
"It's super disruptive," she said, standing in the salon, her 2-year-old daughter watching a show, thanks to the generator power.
Her husband, Matt, an iron worker, has been working every day.
"So, I've been dealing with her all day, dealing with the heat," Helsel said. "We're very fortunate to be able to come here and pop on some Daniel Tiger or some Bluey," she said with a laugh, "for a little bit of a break so I can get some things done and make some phone calls that I need to."
She also said she's concerned about some of her neighbors.
"It's really hard to watch so many people around us who aren't prepared and who are suffering," she said.
There are also a lot of people willing to help, whether by assisting with tree removal or helping with food.
We ran into a man named Rick on a Miller Beach street with heavy tree damage and several new poles carrying power lines.
He said his power came back on Tuesday. He had been staying in a hotel.
"My son has cerebral palsy and autism," he said. "After two days without his TV, without his things, he was like, I'm getting upset, so we took him to a hotel."
Another neighbor, asked if he blames NIPSCO for the slow progress in getting power restored, looked down the street at the severe tree damage.
"We're frustrated," he said. "But you can visually see why there's a power outage."
Mike Krauser
NIPSCO, says some customers are not expected to have power back until next week.
Here's the latest from the utility:
As of 11 a.m. CT | Aug. 19, 2026
Next scheduled update: 4 p.m. CT | Aug. 19, 2026
- Customers currently without power: 87,745
- Customers restored since the start of the event: 282,255
- Total outages to date since Aug. 11, 2026: 370,000
Community-Specific Restoration Estimates
IMPORTANT NOTE: The estimates below are based on current information and reflect when NIPSCO expects restoration work in these communities to be substantially complete. Most customers may have power restored before the estimated time shown as crews continue making repairs and restoring service. These estimates should not be interpreted as the exact restoration time for an individual home or business. There may be individual cases that extend beyond the times provided.
If you do not see your city listed, it is part of a larger service area within the cities listed or is still under assessment. Please know your service is still included, and our crews are focused on addressing outages impacting all customers. We will share more precise city-related estimated restoration times once damage assessments are complete. We want to assure you that every customer and outage is important to us and remains a priority.
Tuesday, Aug. 18 by 11:59 p.m. CT
- Laporte (The estimated restoration time has been extended due to additional work requirements and the need to secure necessary approvals before repairs can be completed safely. Crews are prepared to proceed as soon as all requirements are met.)
Wednesday, Aug. 19 by 5:00 p.m. CT
- Demotte, Hobart, Kingsbury, Kingsford Heights, Merrillville, Michiana Shores, Mill Creek, Porter, Shelby, Rolling Prairie, Wanatah, Westville
Wednesday, Aug. 19 by 11:59 p.m. CT
- Chesterton, Dyer, Schererville, Valparaiso
Tuesday, Aug. 25 by 11:59 p.m. CT
- Highland, Munster
