More than 2,300 Consumers Energy customers in Byron and parts of Shiawassee County are set to lose power late Friday night as crews carry out equipment upgrades before the Memorial Day weekend. The planned power outage is expected to begin around 11 p.m. Friday, May 29, and could last until 7 a.m. Saturday morning.
Consumers Energy said it is working with ITC Michigan on the upgrade work, which is intended to improve long-term reliability and help prevent larger outages in the future. Customers in the affected area should have already received mailed notices explaining the interruption, and the utility is urging residents to sign up online for outage alerts in case repair timelines or restoration estimates change.
The timing has frustrated some residents because the shutdown lands directly ahead of a busy holiday weekend, when travel, gatherings and household routines are often already stretched. The utility has also had to deal with a separate problem at the same time: an unexpected equipment failure caused another outage in parts of Mundy Township in Genesee County, and crews are working to restore those customers while preparing for the overnight work in Shiawassee County.
That split screen captures the tradeoff behind the planned outage. Consumers Energy says the short-term inconvenience is necessary to avoid a bigger failure later, but for families in Byron and nearby communities, the question is immediate and practical: whether the power will be back by daybreak before the holiday weekend begins. For residents looking for broader outage updates, a related report on service disruptions can be found at Power Outage Near Me as severe storm knocks out service across Oahu.
