Gary Still Has 8,600 Outages After 12 Days as Mayor Presses Trump for Help

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 24

More than 8,600 customers—mostly in Gary—were still without electricity Monday, nearly two weeks after the Aug. 11 storms, even as city officials said they hoped for full restoration by Tuesday.
NIPSCO said it expects to restore all Gary customers by Tuesday after storms that caused the utility’s biggest outage on record, while Mayor Eddie Melton called the 12-day pace unacceptable and sought federal help from President Donald Trump.
Residents described mounting hardship: a 73-year-old woman with asthma could not use her nebulizer, families lost hundreds of dollars in spoiled food, and some people cooked in parks or slept in cars for air conditioning.
The prolonged blackout has also fueled anger and distrust in the mostly Black city, with some residents questioning whether Gary is being restored last because of race.