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Thousands of residents recently spent two weeks without power in Gary, Indiana, following a storm that ripped through the majority-Black city. The blackout ground the city to a halt, trapping residents in their apartments, forcing the closure of many businesses and leading to fuel shortages at gas stations. Officials in Indiana estimate the storm might have caused up to $5 billion in damage in Gary and other communities.

“We’re still in the recovery phase, as we speak,” says Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, who underscores that “hardening the infrastructure” should be a priority for the NIPSCO utility company. “We’ve never seen wind this strong before. … They need to ensure that the utility grid system is going to sustain that type of wind.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

We turn now to Gary, Indiana, where thousands of residents recently spent two weeks without power following a storm that ripped through the majority-Black city. Indiana Governor Mike Braun and others have called for investigations into why it took the private utility company, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, NIPSCO, so long for power to be restored. NIPSCO is privately owned, and partially owned by Blackstone. The blackout impacted all aspects of life, from residents being trapped in apartments to gas stations running out of fuel, to grocery stores being forced to close during the blackout. Residents of Gary decried the company’s failure to restore power.

As Electricity Bills Rise, Activists Are Demanding Public Control of Utilities

GARY RESIDENT: You’ve got to think about Gary is predominantly Black, and look how they’re treating us. It’s terrible out here, man. It’s terrible. And it shouldn’t even be this way in 2026, man. 2026, it’s still like this, and it’s terrible, man. And it’s terrible. I feel bad, to be honest with you, man.

GARY RESIDENT: You’ve got to think about Gary is predominantly Black, and look how they’re treating us. It’s terrible out here, man. It’s terrible. And it shouldn’t even be this way in 2026, man. 2026, it’s still like this, and it’s terrible, man. And it’s terrible. I feel bad, to be honest with you,........

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