CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — As another round of heavy snow takes aim at West Michigan, Consumers Energy says it has dozens of teams ready to deploy to any possible outages throughout the region.

Consumers has 200 line workers split into 80 teams staged to respond after the storm passes, spokesperson Tracy Wimmer told News 8 Wednesday.

“I don’t know that I would say we anticipate (outages). We’re prepared for them,” Wimmer said. “When we see there are high gusts in particular, we know that’s usually a trigger for outages. That involves either taking a line down itself for whatever reason or taking down trees, which are the No. 1 cause of outages.”

Wimmer said there are several things that customers can do to prepare for any outages. Make sure you have an emergency kit ready, have batteries and a flashlight, keep your electronics charged and stay at least 25 feet away from downed lines. It’s best to treat them like they’re potentially live and to stay away from any trees or branches they may be touching.

Wimmer also advised having a plan for anything that must remain cold, like medication or infant formula. She also said customers should make sure they use generators safely and not inside.

Kingsland Ace Hardware in Cascade Township typically sees lots of customers looking for a generator before the storm.

“The biggest thing is they wait till the last minute,” said Eric Traetz, a store service manager. “You should never wait until the last minute. If you know the storm’s coming, be prepared.”

The store also got several calls Wednesday from customers looking for repairs.

“Most of the time if you see a storm and they say there’s going to be outages, we’ll sell out of generators in a few hours and I’ll have to prep them all, get them all ready and they’ll be gone,” Traetz said.

Traetz advised that if you have a generator, make sure it’s ready to go by firing it up outside.

“Make sure it’s producing power ’cause sometimes they run and they’re not producing power,” Traetz said. “Then you’ve got to get in here and get it fixed.”

Always make sure it has fresh gas and use recreational fuel. When the power’s back on and you’re done with it, run the generator dry.

“I had it happen to me about five years ago,” Traetz recalled. “I forgot to do it and I was out in the middle of the night trying to clean the carburetor and drain the gas on it. You always want to make sure you have fresh gas and run dry. When you’re ready, put fresh gas in it and you should be ready to go.”