[darstar]

Its possible other places in Upper Michigan have more power outages, I do not really know. The point is , with our little remote part of the Northern Tier....and all the snow, winds, trees,not needing a generator , says a lot for our infrastructure.
It DOES seem strange that SW MI. , all the Nuke plants , all the security, yet , they can't manage to provide consistent electric power to homes in rural areas..... So far , I see little need for a generator around Marquette. I agree with jeeg about fire safety. Propane heaters ( space type) , can be the most common cause of fire .. I keep fire extinguishers in every room and every vehicle, always have.

[Coldjensens]

Rural areas? We live in a suburban area and last year we had at least four power outages, possibly more.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Rural areas? We live in a suburban area and last year we had at least four power outages, possibly more.

It is most likely , but not always as you have found out , that more populated areas have less trees, larger grid patterns,and more sub stations. Some towns and cities have their own electric companies also, they buy from a wholesaler, and maintain or contract with outside contractors for repairs. Also , if you are close to hospitals, major malls , and other high ussage infrastructure your chances are better for consistant electric power.
When I lived in SW Michigan , I was about 10 miles from the Nuke station, and 6 miles from South Haven...just far enough to be ruled " unimportant" as to keeping trees trimmed,having back-up feeds , and in general not a very important customer. Most Public utilities have ageing power grids that need lots of upgrades. When your power goes off , its not always because of where the line problems are. Cutting your power for the needs of others is very common these days.