This past week strong storms caused power outages all across West Michigan. Some people didn't get theirs back until this weekend.

The website for Consumers Energy shows that 370,000 homes and businesses were left without power since Tuesday night. Even workers from other states have been helping out by pulling 16-hour days to get it back on for everybody. As of Sunday night 98% of customers had their electricity restored.

If you are one of those people who lost power, chances are you can receive some money back for your troubles. Consumers will offer a credit to anyone who meets the following criteria:

  • No power for more than 120 hours (5 days) during catastrophic events -- affecting 10% or more of customers.
  • Interrupted service for 16 hours during normal conditions
  • Service was interrupted more than seven times in one year.

You can submit your information here to see if you are eligible to receive a credit on a future bill.

DTE Energy also offers a $25 credit to their customers who qualify.

Even if you don't qualify this is something to remember for future reference.

Restoration efforts will continue into Monday including cleaning up downed lines and trees and broken poles.

Consumers Energy says this is one of their worst outages that has happened in Michigan (via WOOD-TV). What's interesting is weather-related outages account for only 11% of all power outages. The number one cause, at 33%, is trees.

It's a smart idea to invest in a generator to be prepared for situations like these. If you're in the market for a new generator, we've curated a list of the top 10 home generators.

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