KENTUCKY (WSIL) --Kentucky's Electric Cooperatives say crews are wrapping up power restoration efforts-meaning more people are getting their power back.
They say more than 300,000 people didn't have power after storms moved through Friday, March 3 and knocked down more than 1,000 power lines. As of Wednesday, March 8, that number is down to about 2,000 people. The Co-op says most of those outages are in cave country and power may not be back until the end of the week.
“We continue to ask for patience as we restore the remaining areas,”says Kim Phelps, Sr. Dir., Communications and Public Relations.“We are in the stage of restoration where pole replacements, removing trees from power lines, and putting up lines allows us to turn the power on to just a few houses at a time.�
Even as co-ops complete restoration efforts, linemen are still on the job, checking on areas that still have power but where infrastructure is damaged.
“Crews are coming across broken poles where electric service is live,”says Randy Meredith, Director of Safety & Training at Kentucky Electric Cooperatives, the association which supports local co-ops.“We cannot emphasize this enough. Please report such broken poles to your co-op and stay away from these dangerous situations, including damaged trees leaning into electric lines.�
Kentucky's Electric Cooperative says there were linemen helping from more than 60 sister co-ops and 11 states. They say most of those workers are now headed home.
