Kentucky Power Storm Update
Wednesday, August 3, 11 a.m.
Weather
Flooding on Thursday, July 28 caused catastrophic damage to numerous communities in southeast Kentucky leaving 23,000 customers without power at the peak of the event.
Summary
Around 78% of customers have been restored. More than 18,000 of customers have been restored with around 5,000 remaining.
Storm Response Efforts
The remaining work is extremely difficult and time-consuming due to the terrain and poor conditions. Most areas are not truck accessible, meaning crews will be manually hand-setting poles, walking and climbing into areas, using ATVs to access places rather than relying on bucket trucks and other large vehicles. More than 900 Kentucky Power personnel, business partners and external resources are working to restore power. Crews from AEP sister companies and other business partners from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are assisting.
Estimated Restoration Times
We are expecting to have the majority of customers who can receive power restored by late Friday night. Rest assured customers will be restored every day. Crews have more than 258 separate outage cases to address and there are multiple outages on the same circuit in many areas. Crews are hoping to finish restoration on most of the system’s backbone or main lines by late tonight. From there, crews will be able to apply even more focus to the smaller outage cases, including single customer outage cases for those in a position and ready to restore power.
Keep in mind we are listing areas below where the biggest numbers of customers exist and the information applies to ALL SURROUNDING AREAS
Breathitt County – approximately 1,400 customers without power
Damage to our electrical facilities is extensive in Breathitt County. Work will extend through the week and longer for some areas for customers who can safely receive power. Crews are working throughout the county today. Access to some of the areas continues to be a problem because of damaged or blocked roads. The biggest pockets of outages remain in these areas and surrounding areas: Hwy 28/Booneville, Canoe, Turner’s Creek, Morris Fork, Buckhorn town, Lost Creek, Quick Sand, Press Howard, Hwy 15/Watts, Troublesome Creek, Little Buckhorn, Clayhole, Around Hwy 476. We realize this list does not capture every road, community and area but represents where the biggest groups of customers exist. We are working to restore every customer who can receive power as quickly and as safely as possible.
Knott County – approximately 1,000 customers without power
Damage to our electrical facilities is extensive in Knott County. Work will extend through the week and longer for some areas for customers who can safely receive power. Crews are working throughout the county today. Access to some of the areas continues to be a problem because of damaged or blocked roads. We realize this list does not capture every road, community and area but represents where the biggest groups of customers exist. We are working to restore every customer who can receive power as quickly and as safely as possible.
The biggest pockets of outages remain in these areas and surrounding areas:
Pinetop, Pinetop Community Center and Collins Branch. Bridge is washed out at Steer Fork so some areas are still inaccessible.
-Work continues in the Fisty and Meadowbrook Road. Crews are hopeful to have these areas restored by Wednesday.
-Crews will continue work in the Garner/Upper End of Hindman Wednesday evening.
-Talcum area damage includes 10 spans of wire/6 broken poles. Crews are hoping to use a boat to access the area today.
-The National Guard is building a temporary bridge at Right Fork of Holly Bush. Once that is complete, restoration can continue.
Letcher County – approximately 250 customers without power
Mayking, Millstone and Deane areas will be worked Wednesday to hopefully wrap up restoration in Letcher County.
Perry County – approximately 2,100 customers without power
Damage to our electrical facilities is extensive in Perry County. Work will extend through the week and longer for some areas for customers who can safely receive power. Crews are working throughout the county today. Access to some of the areas continue to be a problem because of damaged or blocked roads. Crews are addressing outages in and around Ary, Buckhorn High School area/Squabble Creek area, Busy, Hazard, Lotts Creek, Buckhorn, Bulan, Grapevine, 15 Mile, 16 Mile and surrounding areas. We realize this list does not capture every road, community or area but represents where the biggest groups of customers exist. We are working to restore every customer who can receive power as quickly and as safely as possible.
Because of the extent of damage to people’s homes and businesses, we are anticipating a lot of single customer outage cases as restoration progresses. Restoration estimates are for customers whose property is in condition to receive power. If the electric service entrance (meter loop) to your home or business has been damaged or pulled away from the structure, you will need to have it repaired in accordance with the National Electric Code before Kentucky Power can re-connect service.
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. Customers can report outages online, on their mobile device or to our Customer Operations Center at 1-800-572-1113.
Safety Message: Kentucky Power warns customers 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.
Next update: Thursday, August 4, 11 a.m.