How winter storms impact Kentucky’s power companies

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Winter weather is coming fast, and some winter storms cause more issues than others.

The winter weather this week won’t create major issues on the power grid. Other types of winter weather, though, can be a major issue.

“Wind gusts. Wind is obviously bad, heavy snow. But ice can really create a lot of problems because it brings down trees. It can bring down lines. It creates a tough situation for our crews responding in it,” said Daniel Lowry of LG&E and KU Energy.

Lowry said they are prepared when bad storms bring thousands of power outages.

“We are going to make sure we have plenty of supplies on hand for our crews, we have the right materials ready, make sure our trucks are full of gas. We do those sorts of things to prepare and be extra ready if we get bad weather on our way,” said Lowry.

Lowry said if the power does go out in your home, the first thing to do is try to check for an estimated duration time.

“We do these estimated restoration times with a lot of science behind it. We look at the damaged equipment, we look at the damages, and we know from historical data about how long it’s going to take to make those repairs,” said Lowry.

When a significant storm strikes, Lowry said patience is key.

“If we have a widespread outage with hundreds of thousands of customers without power like a big ice storm, it may take us a few hours or it could take a day to determine when we will get everybody back up,” said Lowry.