Kentucky Power Ice Storm Response
Saturday, February 13, 6:30 p.m.
***Weather Alert*** for February Winter Storm #2
There is strong potential for February Winter Storm #2 to come through the Kentucky Power service area beginning Sunday evening through Tuesday morning.
- Paintsville, South Williamson, Hazard and Pikeville and surrounding areas: Ice storm with 1/2”-3/4” inch accumulation
- Ashland: Heavy winter mix likely (4-8” wet snow/sleet, and 1/4” ice)
- Whitesburg: Moderate icing likely (1/4”-1/2” likely)
Planning is underway to secure resources to address the second round should it occur and bring new outages. This storm is expected to have a wide-impact affecting other utilities in neighboring states. Customers are strongly encouraged to make emergency plans also. Prepare an emergency outage kit, ensure loved ones who may need extra help have a place to go should they lose power and have a plan for your own household.
February Winter Storm #1
Situation
An ice storm moved through eastern Kentucky Wednesday night – Thursday morning wreaking havoc on electrical facilities, causing power outages for thousands of Kentucky Power customers.
Current Outages
Outages peaked late Thursday morning, February 11, leaving nearly 25,000 customers out of power. More than 14,000 customers have been restored, leaving around 11,000 remaining without power.
Approximate customer count in counties most affected include: Boyd-6,700; Carter-2,700; Greenup-800; Lawrence-1,000 and Rowan-400.
Storm response efforts and restoration estimates
An overnight freezing drizzle and additional glazing delayed restoration this morning. Black ice, vehicle accidents and road closures prohibited crews getting out early. Horrible road conditions continue to be a problem for our crews.
Around 800 people are in the field working on approximately 500 places where repairs are needed. Most of these places have small pockets of customers on the circuit, but they are also areas with extensive damage and the most time consuming to repair.
More than 65 broken poles and 500 downed spans of wire have been identified.
It is estimated that 95% of customers will be restored by Monday night, meaning that many customers will be restored sooner.
Safety Message
The Boyd County Community Center (15650 KY-180, Catlettsburg) is open for all county residents as a warming station and emergency shelter. The Ashland Bus System is operating a paratransit service from 8am-6pm on a circumstantial call-in basis. City of Ashland residents may call 606-385-3220 to arrange transportation to the Boyd County Community Center.
Lawrence County now has at least three warming centers at BlAINE BAPTIST CHURCH, ONE AT LOUISA FIRST BAPTIST AND ONE OVER IN FT. GAY. (SEE ANNOUNCEMENTS)
Stay away from all downed lines or sparking equipment, and keep children and pets away from fallen lines and anything the lines may touch.
For everyone’s health and safety with the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, please do not approach power company personnel in the field.
For More Information
Customers can report outages and check the latest restoration information for their account anytime 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 device or to our Customer Operations Center at 1-800-572-1113.
Customers also can get specific information about outages via text message and/or email by subscribing to Kentucky Power outage alerts. To sign up, please visitwww.kentuckypower.com/alerts. Information also is posted on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/KentuckyPower and on Twitter at twitter.com/KentuckyPower or @KentuckyPower.
Next Update:
Sunday, February 14, 10:30 a.m.
