West Mich. prepares for Sandy effects

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Consumers Energy officials have been watching as superstorm Sandy develops along the East Coast and are gearing up for the worst-case scenario here in West Michigan.

Sandy, which was reclassified from a hurricane to a nor'easter Monday evening, is expected to make landfall on the East Coast Monday evening or night. The superstorm is expected to cause flooding, high winds, downed trees and power outages. It is estimated it could cause billions of dollars in damages.

Here in West Michigan, Consumers Energy is preparing for the widespread power outages and putting crews on emergency status.

"We're ready for the storm," Consumers spokesman Roger Morgenstern told 24 Hour News 8 Monday.

The massive storm has already had effects on the Great Lakes as high winds start to kick up. Waves were 8 feet high at the beach in Saint Joseph Monday and are expected to grow even higher Tuesday.

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Photos: Hurricane Sandy

Photos: Sandy affects Great Lakes

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Monday, Consumers was staffing its headquarters around the clock in anticipation of the far-reaching hurricane's impact in West Michigan.

"We'd expect high winds, especially along the coastal areas across the state. Especially here in West Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline, they're expecting some incredibly high winds," said Morgenstern.

Consumers said it has sent 14 engineering support workers to Maryland at the request of utilities there, along with releasing some tree trimming and power line contractors to go east.  But it's hanging onto most of its contractors and all of its full-time employees to prepare for the storm's impact here.

"We making sure we're prepared for the worst-case scenario: That we have a widespread power outages, widespread wires down," said Morgenstern. "We're making sure all our crews are going to be working up to 16 hours a day and then they get a mandatory 8 hours rest."

Consumers wants its customers to be ready in case they lose power.

"We also encourage our customers to be ready in case there's a power outage. Make sure they've got batteries in their flashlights. Make sure they've got a battery-operated radio or TV.  Make sure their cell phones are charged," said Morgenstern.

And since a lot of heating systems depend on electricity to function properly, Morgenstern suggested residents prepare to keep warm in case they lose power.