LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Central Kentucky is bracing for its first winter storm of the season, and this one has a chance to drop a layer of ice on parts of the state, along with the possible snowfall that may roll in.
Ice is what gets the attention of many, as those who were here from some of the more severe ice events know the kind of impact it can have.
“'09 was challenging, ‘03 as well,” said Daniel Lowry of Kentucky Utilities about the ice storms of those two years. “But we have made improvement since then. We’re in better position now than in the past,” Lowry continued.
Lowry also noted that ice presents a greater challenge to power lines than snow, as its weight can snap wires, and nearby tree limbs by bending or breaking those onto those wires.
No matter what happens on Sunday night into Monday morning, Lowry said KU is ready to respond.
“We have crews (with) 450 members across 40 crew centers across our service territory and we're ready,” he said of the plan that’s in place.
Lowry said critical infrastructure will receive top priority when it comes to restoring power.
“Police, fire, hospitals, nursing homes, then restoring circuits for neighborhoods as quickly as possible,” he said of their plan.
Lowry said a lot of that happens much faster than it did in 2003 and 2009 because of technology improvements and automation. But nothing is immediate when power is lost, and his staff knows how challenging that can be, especially with an arctic cold front following the storm.
“We don’t know how many outages we’ll have, but if it’s in the hundreds of thousands it could take a few days,” he said of the timetable for restoration.
“It could be bad,” he said of the storm, and he’s been informed that conditions could vary depending on location.
Lowry mentioned that KU resources will be shifted as needed, and requesting help from elsewhere isn’t out of the question.
“We already have staging areas ready, so if we need additional resources from our out-of-state partners, that's in place now,” he stated.
For information on how to prepare for the storm, and to follow KU’s power outage map and estimated restoration times, click here: LG&E and KU Outage Map
