Your Energy Matters

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution earlier this week honoring linemen for their work in keeping the power on and designating today, April 18, as ‘National Lineman Appreciation Day.’

The bill serves two main purposes – it “recognizes the efforts of linemen in keeping the power on and protecting public safety” and “supports the designation of April 18, 2013 as National Lineman Appreciation Day.”

At LG&E and KU, our line techs take great pride in keeping the lights on. When Mother Nature throws her worst at us, our men and women give their best, working 24/7 to restore customers' power safely and as quickly as possible.

Line techs are unsung heros. They have a deep commitment and care for our customers. Their devotion to the job also extends to helping others in times of need, too. Through our mutual assistance program, our line techs and field personnel travel far and wide to help utilities in other states restore power when hurricanes, ice storms and other inclement weather events wreak havoc.

As severe weather threatens our area this week, rest assured that our line techs will be ready to respond, regardless of the time or day.

We want you to be ready and safe, too. Visit our storm page to view our online outage map, download our outage map app and for important safety information.     

Until next time, keep using energy wisely...and thank a line tech!

To help the Gulf Coast community recover from Hurricane Isaac, LG&E and KU sent 204 employees and Kentucky-based contractors this morning to help Entergy restore power.

The hurricane’s high winds and slow progression have left trails of debris and destruction across the Gulf states.

A quick check this morning of Entergy's Louisiana outage map showed nearly 700,000 customers without power, so complete restoration will likely take several days.

Our people will meet up with Entergy crews later today to begin power restoration, repair damaged equipment, downed wires and other storm-related damage.

The LG&E and KU team consists of veteran line technicians, team leaders and tree trimmers from locations across Kentucky, many of whom have decades of experience and have travelled out of state numerous times to help other utilities in their time of need. 

These efforts are a result of our participation in nationwide mutual assistance organizations, in which a collection of utility companies assist other utilities in times of natural disasters and crisis situations.

Remember the 2009 ice storm and 2008 wind storm, when hundreds of thousands of customers across Kentucky lost power? Entergy sent crews to help us restore power then, so it's great to be able to help them restore and recover now, in their time of need.

Whenever we receive a request from another utility to send help, we always make sure our customers at home are well-covered in the event of inclement weather, and to be able to handle day-to-day business such as emergency situations and maintenance. Your family and our community is our top priorty, and we have more than enough resources available at home to hold down the fort. 

Crews will continue to restore power for Gulf Coast utilities until no longer needed and as long as weather patterns remain calm in our service territory.

How you can help

The American Red Cross already has boots on the ground assisting with recovery in the affected areas. Visit their website to learn how you can contribute to their relief efforts.

Prepare now

Do you have a disaster plan? Would your family know what to do during a natural disaster? Early preparation is critical to staying safe and out of harm's way. Check out www.ready.gov for some good information on how to be informed, make a plan and build an emergency kit.