Power outages: We Energies 'on track' to 98% restoration tonight

We Energies power restoration work continues

A winter storm is pushed through southeast Wisconsin Friday, Jan. 12 though Saturday, Jan. 13, knocking out power for thousands of We Energies customers.

MILWAUKEE COUNTY - We Energies says that its efforts to restore power are not slowed down by the arctic cold, and is "on track to restore power to all customers on Monday, Jan. 15.

We Energies said as of 8:30 p.m. Monday, power was restored to 260,000 customers. There are less than 675 customers impacted by the storm still without service.

Outage numbers fluctuated throughout Friday and Saturday, but reached an early Saturday morning high of roughly 94,000.

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"We’ve been working very hard over the course of the last 36 hours to restore customers," said We Energies' Vice President Dave Megna. "We've got a small army of crews working to restore customers as safely and quickly as we can."

Fallen trees and downed power lines caused the outages, officials said, and assistance has come from as far away as Indiana.

"Since midnight on Thursday, Jan. 11, the Milwaukee Fire Department has responded to 937 separate calls for service," said MFD Chief Aaron Lipski. "A solid chunk of those, about 127, were related specifically to electrical hazards."

In Milwaukee and across the area, crews are now facing another big challenge.

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"We still have a deep freeze coming, that will cause more complications," said Jerrel Kruschke, Milwaukee's DPW commissioner. "Please be patient with us. This is a challenging operation, and we also understand that it’s challenging for residents as well."

"I am asking everybody to step up. Touch base with your family, friends – touch base with your neighbors. Make sure they are safe," Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said.

Displaced individuals in need of warming centers can call 211 or visit 211’s list of locations.

Outage information

We Energies said, if you lose power, call them – 800-662-4797 – to let them know where the outage is; it makes getting it repaired go a lot quicker. The utility provider also asks for patients as crews work around the clock battling the elements.

Continued winter storm coverage

FOX6 Weather Extras

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School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.