NIPSCO defends storm response

The electric utility serving Northwest Indiana isn’t expecting power to be restored in some areas until next week, and it's defending the storm response in Gary.

More than 20-thousand NIPSCO customers in Gary, both residential and commercial, remained without power as of this morning.

Residents, like Cardarius Holden, are frustrated to be spending a tenth day without electricity.

"It's been kinda rough, you know, we really need some, any type of help right now," he told WBBM.

Some residents of the city have said they feel overlooked, and some have accused the utility of treating their city - mostly black and lower-income - differently than others.

Melody Birmingham, the group utilities president at NiSource, NIPSCO’s parent company, spoke during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon in Gary.

"Some of the most extensive and complex damage from the storm occurred in portions of Gary," Birmingham said. "This is not a socio-economic divide. This is truly, truly a situation of where the storm hit."

Birmingham added, "We would not, we have not, and should not ever prioritize how we respond based on color, based on socio-economic status. That is not the business we're in."

Some people claiming to be from Gary have been very critical of the utility's response.

"Where I hear that is social media," Birmingham said. "And many times people are not even in the community."

Its now estimated that power will be fully restored in Gary next Tuesday.

Some customers had power restored earlier this week, including most residents of the MiIler Beach neighborhood.

Here's the latest from NIPSCO:

Storm Restoration Update
As of 11 a.m. CT | Aug. 20, 2026
Next scheduled update: 4 p.m. CT | Aug. 20, 2026

Customers currently without power: 63,500
Customers restored since the start of the event: 306,500
Total outages to date since Aug. 11, 2026: 370,000

Thursday, August 20th by 11:59 p.m.
• Dyer
• East Chicago

Friday, August 21st by 11:59 p.m.
• Griffith
• Hobart
• Merrillville

Saturday, August 22nd by 11:59 p.m.
• Hammond
• Highland
• Schererville
• Whiting

Sunday, August 23rd by 11:59 p.m.
• Lake Station

Monday, August 24th by 11:59 p.m.
• Munster

Tuesday, August 25th by 11:59 p.m.
• Gary
• Portage