Gary, Indiana, restores power to nearly all customers after derecho
More than two weeks after a destructive derecho hit northern Indiana, power has been restored to almost all residents of Gary. NIPSCO says only about 100 customers remain without electricity. The storm caused what the utility called the worst damage in its history, and local officials had criticized the slow recovery.
The Aug. 11 derecho packed straight-line winds between 70 and 100-plus mph, and an accompanying EF2 tornado carved a 26-mile path from Illinois into Indiana. NIPSCO reported roughly 375,000 customers — 80 percent of its base — lost electricity, with restoration stretching past two weeks in Gary.
During the outage, Mayor Eric Melton publicly condemned the recovery pace, while residents described sleeping in air-conditioned cars and relying on inhalers when medical devices failed. Governor Mike Braun demanded an investigation, and President Trump later approved a major disaster declaration. Seven storm-related deaths were recorded across Indiana.
This restoration timeline could shape public expectations for utility accountability during severe weather events. Residents of Gary, a predominantly Black city, may feel the recovery effort reflected broader infrastructure inequities, even as the utility attributes delays to storm geography. The governor's call for investigation and the federal disaster declaration could lead to stricter oversight of monopoly utilities and more robust