3 Easy Ways to Prepare for Spring Storms
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Even though the temperature insists otherwise, today is the first day of spring, and a perfect time to prepare for severe weather events that come with the change in season.
We take steps year-round to prepare for inclement weather, and offer you the following tips and suggestions to plan ahead, stay informed and be safe during storm events:
1. Plan ahead: Visit www.ready.gov to make a plan and learn how to build an emergency supply kit, which should include items such as prescription medicines, weather radio, important phone numbers, a first aid kit, flashlights and extra batteries, to name a few.
Before severe weather strikes, we prepare by monitoring weather conditions, placing field crews and contact centers on alert and readying operating equipment and material.
Throughout the year, we make infrastructure investments and perform regular system maintenance such as tree trimming and hazardous tree removals to enhance system reliability.
2. Stay informed: During outage situations, system and restoration updates are provided through our automated phone system, online outage map and outage map app. At the beginning of a widespread restoration event, our crews must first assess damage to the electric system before repairs can be prioritized.
Keeping customers informed of the companies’ progress is an essential part of our emergency response plan, and in times of widespread power outages, general restoration information and safety tips are provided on our Facebook page, Twitter feed and on this blog.
3. Be safe: Always assume any downed wire is an energized power line. Stay away and report it immediately. LG&E customers should call 502-589-3500; KU customers should call 1-800-981-0600. Visit www.lge-ku.com/storm for important safety information concerning portable generators, food storage and electric service.
A step-by-step guide to power restoration
In responding to major power outages across our service territory, a priority is given to critical-care organizations, such as hospitals, fire and police stations and nursing homes. At the same time, our crews focus on restoring service to schools, airports and other utility infrastructure, like water and sewer pumping stations.
We must repair any critical infrastructure that might be damaged, like the transmission lines and substations that carry electricity into neighborhoods and commercial areas, before power can be restored to those locations.
The goal is to fix a problem that will restore power to large groups of customers simultaneously, so hundreds or even thousands of customers come back online with one repair job.
Our crews then move on to where they can get neighborhoods restored and continue until they address problems that affect power to individual streets and homes.
Customers who experience a power outage should report it to the company by either using our online outage reporting system or by calling LG&E at 502-589-3500 or KU at 1-800-981-0600.
While every storm is unique and presents distinct challenges to utility crews, we remain committed to restoring power safely and as quickly as possible and keeping customers informed every step of the way.
Be safe!
We take steps year-round to prepare for inclement weather, and offer you the following tips and suggestions to plan ahead, stay informed and be safe during storm events:
1. Plan ahead: Visit www.ready.gov to make a plan and learn how to build an emergency supply kit, which should include items such as prescription medicines, weather radio, important phone numbers, a first aid kit, flashlights and extra batteries, to name a few.
Before severe weather strikes, we prepare by monitoring weather conditions, placing field crews and contact centers on alert and readying operating equipment and material.
Throughout the year, we make infrastructure investments and perform regular system maintenance such as tree trimming and hazardous tree removals to enhance system reliability.
2. Stay informed: During outage situations, system and restoration updates are provided through our automated phone system, online outage map and outage map app. At the beginning of a widespread restoration event, our crews must first assess damage to the electric system before repairs can be prioritized.
Keeping customers informed of the companies’ progress is an essential part of our emergency response plan, and in times of widespread power outages, general restoration information and safety tips are provided on our Facebook page, Twitter feed and on this blog.
3. Be safe: Always assume any downed wire is an energized power line. Stay away and report it immediately. LG&E customers should call 502-589-3500; KU customers should call 1-800-981-0600. Visit www.lge-ku.com/storm for important safety information concerning portable generators, food storage and electric service.
A step-by-step guide to power restoration
In responding to major power outages across our service territory, a priority is given to critical-care organizations, such as hospitals, fire and police stations and nursing homes. At the same time, our crews focus on restoring service to schools, airports and other utility infrastructure, like water and sewer pumping stations.
We must repair any critical infrastructure that might be damaged, like the transmission lines and substations that carry electricity into neighborhoods and commercial areas, before power can be restored to those locations.
The goal is to fix a problem that will restore power to large groups of customers simultaneously, so hundreds or even thousands of customers come back online with one repair job.
Our crews then move on to where they can get neighborhoods restored and continue until they address problems that affect power to individual streets and homes.
Customers who experience a power outage should report it to the company by either using our online outage reporting system or by calling LG&E at 502-589-3500 or KU at 1-800-981-0600.
While every storm is unique and presents distinct challenges to utility crews, we remain committed to restoring power safely and as quickly as possible and keeping customers informed every step of the way.
Be safe!
