Cloverland Electric Continues Restoration Efforts with Additional Mutual Aid — Update 7

Dafter, Michigan – Cloverland Electric Cooperative reports approximately 4,500 members remain without power on Thursday afternoon. Monday’s freezing rain and ice resulted in what has been described as an unprecedented extended multi-day outage event in Cloverland’s history. A total of 20 mutual aid crews from other Michigan-based utilities are now assisting with restoration efforts. Progress has been slow going due to the extensive storm damage to power lines and equipment.

“This is the worst widespread winter storm damage I have seen in my 28 years at the co-op,” says Cloverland Electric’s Director of Operations Paul Warner. “We have enlisted the help of mutual aid which will impact the pace of our restoration process.”

The co-op received good news this morning as 10 additional mutual aid teams became available to assist Cloverland crews. The co-op requested mutual aid on Monday morning and received an increasing number of crews as they became available over the holiday. Crews will continue 16-hour shifts with mandatory 8-hour safety rest until all members are restored. Meanwhile, there are numerous employees working tirelessly behind-the-scenes through intense circumstances.

“We understand our members are very frustrated just as we are,” says Cloverland Electric’s President and CEO Mike Heise. “We want our members to know how hard our entire team is working both in the field and behind-the-scenes to the get lights back on.”

Outage counts peaked to historic levels Monday with more than half of the co-op’s 33,000 members in the dark, predominantly in Chippewa County. Although crews have restored thousands of outages since Sunday, additional outages have occurred and made it challenging to make an impact on the overall number which has continued to fluctuate.

Cloverland Electric reminds the public to stay safe and stay clear of downed power lines and report them to (800) 562-4953 or local law enforcement agencies. Those with access to Cloverland Electric's website and Cloverland Electric’s Facebook page can stay current on restoration efforts and the latest updates available. However, the co-op reminds its members not to use Facebook or other social media platforms to report outages, post service addresses, or other account information.


Cloverland Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned utility located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It serves over 42,000 homes and businesses in Chippewa, Delta, Mackinac, Luce, and Schoolcraft counties.