Arabic version: رئيس بلدية غاري يضغط على شركة المرافق بسبب الانقطاعات الطويلة

According to The Guardian, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called it “unacceptable” that thousands of residents remained without electricity nearly two weeks after an 11 August derecho brought 90mph straight-line winds and downed trees on to power lines.

In a Sunday video address, Melton said families had gone too long without power and that he was continuing to pressure Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or Nipsco, to restore service before the end of Tuesday. More than 14,500 outages remained in Gary on Sunday, falling to 10,187 by Monday morning, the company said. At the peak, 374,500 customers were without power.

Most Gary students were able to return to school on Monday, officials said. Melton said the city had 700 lineworkers and 300 vegetation crews working on restoration. Nipsco said Gary might not have full service until Tuesday, while ComEd sent crews to assist repairs.

The outages in north-west Indiana have contributed to food lines, business closures, dead phones, school disruptions, spoiled food, unwashed clothes and dry gas pumps. Residents have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing Nipsco of failing to trim trees that damaged power lines. The utility disputed the allegations, saying its vegetation-management spending has more than doubled since 2016.

Gary has hired three organizations for recovery work, including damage assessments, debris collection oversight and debris removal. Organizers also planned a relief-supplies event outside Roosevelt Pavilion with support from Keith Lee, Tyrese Haliburton, the Salvation Army, Ace Hardware and city officials. Lee committed $15,000 in supplies, which Haliburton matched.