Portland, Michigan, don't be caught off guard next week.

According to WLNS, Portland, Michigan is going to have a power outage next weekend. But not to fret; the power outage is completely planned.

When will Portland not have power?

The outage is for customers of the Portland Board of Light and Power. You can expect the outage to begin in the evening on Friday, October 15th at 11:45 pm, and go through the next day, Saturday, October 16th until12 noon. Make sure you charge your phone beforehand and set any alarms you may need that are NOT connected to a power outlet.

The City of Portland first made the announcement on its Facebook page in the middle of September. But at this point, that announcement was made a while ago, so they wanted to make sure residents of Portland had a little reminder.

Why is the Portland Power Outage happening?

This scheduled outage is the first step in a plan to "install new reclosers between the Consumers Energy substation, which provides about 95% of Portland's power, and the city-wide electrical distribution system." The switches that are currently there have reached the end of their life and need to be replaced to keep everything running in peak condition.

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Portland residents may be asking themselves, why doesn't the Portland Board of Light and Power (PBLP) just use the natural and diesel generators they have for the city? Well, that is an excellent question, and the PBLP has an answer;

 

"The equipment to be replaced is located between our generators and the electrical distribution system. There is no safe way to conduct the planned maintenance activities and generate power during the outage."

 

The workers are going to be right in the middle of the two power sources, so in making sure that they stay as safe as possible, PBLP will not be turning on the generators.

So don't forget: from 11:45 pm on Friday, October 15th through 12 noon on Saturday, October 16th, 95% of the City of Portland will have no power. So if you need electricity for your home or business, you may want to consider a personal generator.

Since Portland residents might be a little on edge Saturday, you will not want to test them...definitely refrain from saying any of these things:

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