Braun tells NIPSCO to move faster in Gary, while clergy says state must do more

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun urged the Northern Indiana Public Service Company to hasten its repairs as Northwest Indiana residents endure days without electricity following intense summer storms — even as advocates and faith leaders called on the state to step up its own recovery efforts.

Eleven days after an Aug. 11 derecho plunged Gary and nearby cities into darkness, more than 33,000 people remain without power. NIPSCO crews have restored electrical service to 341,000 people who were impacted by the blackout. 

Braun defended the state's cleanup efforts and wrote on social media that NIPSCO "needs to match the urgency" of state crews working to clear debris. 

"Bring in more crews. Put every available resource into the field. Get creative. Get the job done," the governor wrote. "Hoosiers have waited long enough." 

Braun declared a statewide disaster emergency on Aug. 13, directing state agencies to supplement local relief efforts, and mobilized the Indiana National Guard. He also secured a presidential emergency declaration from President Donald Trump, which makes up to $5 million in federal aid available. 

But the state is still waiting to hear whether the federal government will approve a major disaster declaration, which could unlock additional assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Meanwhile, the situation in Gary has grown increasingly untenable. Families are running low on food and clean clothes, and public schools remain closed. 

As of the morning of Aug. 22, NIPSCO estimated on its website that power restoration would not be "substantially complete" until Tuesday, Aug. 25. 

The prolonged outage is evidence that Braun needs to do more, said faith leaders who gathered at a news conference outside the Antioch Fountain of Grace Baptist Church on Aug. 22. 

"Families have lost food. Seniors have been sitting in homes without electricity. People with medical needs have been placed in difficult and sometimes dangerous situations. Workers have missed work. Small businesses have lost revenue," said the Rev. David W. Greene Sr., the senior pastor of Purpose of Life Ministries. "Churches and community organizations have been called upon to meet needs that continue to grow." 

Greene, who is also president of the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, said it was time for the state to step in.  

"We recognize and support the effort to secure every dollar of federal assistance available to the people of Northwest Indiana. We want FEMA and the federal government to respond," Greene said. "But Gary should not have to wait on Washington before Indiana acts." 

Greene called on Braun and state lawmakers to free up dollars from the state's reserves — nearly $4 billion at the end of fiscal year 2026 this summer, including a $1.1 billion rainy day fund. 

"Well, Northwest Indiana's experienced more than a rainy day," he said. 

State leaders should also helm an investigation into this summer's failures, Greene said. 

"There must be a serious examination of what happened, why so many people remain without power for so long, and what investments are necessary to strengthen the infrastructure and resilience of Northwest Indiana," he said. 

The Rev. R.E. Robinson of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, who grew up in Gary and served there as a pastor for 13 years, said he still has family in the city, including his 74-year-old mother and 98-year-old grandfather. As Gary nears 12 days without power, Robinson said, people there have missed two weeks of work — "two full payroll checks, for people already living from check to check. 

"We come together today with one voice, asking those who have the power and the authority and the pen to release the resources to our brothers and our sisters, our mothers and our fathers, because 12 days is long enough," he said. 

NIPSCO customers pay the highest residential electricity rates in the state. Indiana's utility regulators approved another increase just days before the derecho hit, Robinson pointed out. 

Faith leaders who spoke at the news conference expressed concern that state leaders would neglect Gary, a majority-Black, Democratic-leaning city that has shed population and wealth for decades as steel mills shrank their workforce. 

Dr. Clyde Posley Jr., the pastor of Antioch Fountain of Grace, compared the dayslong blackout in Gary to Hurricane Katrina, where federal officials slow-walked their response to disastrous flooding in New Orleans. 

"We are in the early stages — by the long-term extended outages and people left underserved — in Gary, we are getting into Katrina territory," Posley said. 

Greene, Posley, and Robinson are collecting non-perishable food and hygiene supplies. They plan to bring donations to Gary in a 26-foot U-Haul truck at noon on Aug. 23. Donations can be left at: 

Purpose of Life Ministries at 3705 W. Kessler Boulevard N. Drive. 

First Baptist Church of Bridgeport at 7427 E. 34th St. 

Antioch Fountain of Grace Baptist Church at 704 E. 32nd St.

The churches are also asking for donations from businesses, especially those able to contribute in bulk. 

Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam Fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Braun tells NIPSCO to move faster in Gary, while clergy says state must do more