Kentucky Power Storm Update
Saturday, June 18, 10 a.m.
Summary
Kentucky Power crews continue to assess damage and restore outages caused by Friday afternoon’s thunderstorm leaving around 26,000 customers without power at the peak of the storm. The storm traveled throughout Kentucky Power’s service area accompanied by strong wind gusts bringing down trees, poles and wires.
Outages and Restoration Estimates
Crews made substantial progress in the hours following the storm and restored more than 50% of the customers by late Friday night. There are approximately 11,500 customers without power this morning. Outages are spread across multiple counties with the largest impacts in Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, Martin and Pike counties. There are nearly 600 individual outage cases with the majority affecting small groups of customers. Because of the damage and the number of outages cases, restoration will continue through the weekend and likely into early next week for a few areas.
Restoration information for your location can be found at kentuckypower.com/outages or by downloading the Kentucky Power mobile app at kentuckypower.com/app. The outage map is updated every 15 minutes. Restoration information is added when known. Click on “View Outage Map” to access the map on a computer, cell phone, or tablet. Customers can report outages online, on their mobile devices, or to our Customer Operations Center at 1-800-572-1113.
Storm Response Efforts
Crews from all of Kentucky Power’s districts are responding and additional resources will join the local restoration team today, resulting in approximately 400 personnel working to address remaining outages.
Electrical service is first restored to hospitals and other essential facilities including grocery stores, followed by circuits with the largest number of customers.
Safety Message
High winds can cause fallen trees and downed power lines. Kentucky Power warns customers to be aware of broken limbs and branches and to stay away from all downed lines. Never touch downed power lines no matter how harmless they look. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. Also, never touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call Kentucky Power at 1-800-572-1113 to report hazards.
Customer Information
Customers are reminded that during storm restoration situations, Kentucky Power tree crews clear rights of way of trees and move on to the next location. Kentucky Power does not return to remove the cut trees. Property owners are responsible for removal.
Next Update: Sunday, June, 19 at 10 a.m.
Lazer photos by Susan Salyer
