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Nearly 24,000 without power

Melissa Yungbluth

Nearly 24,000 Kentucky Power customers in Boyd, Carter, Greenup, Lawrence, and Rowan counties are without power after Wednesday night’s winter weather.

 

The weather front is expected to be through the area by late this afternoon, likely leaving behind additional customers without power, poor road conditions and on-going chilly temperatures. Additional winter storms are in the near-term weather forecast.

  

Crews are conducting damage assessment, responding to hazardous situations and working to restore essential services as the first step. Until further damage assessment can take place, estimated restoration times are not available. Complete restoration is expected to be a multi-day effort.

  

Local emergency authorities are reporting several road closures due to trees and icy conditions and discourage travel unless absolutely necessary. Ice remains the biggest threat at this time which causes significant damage to Kentucky Power electrical facilities.

 

As of this morning, nearly 800 personnel were in the area.  Crews from Kentucky Power, AEP sister companies and business partners make up the response team and were brought to staging areas to be ready to respond as quickly as possible. Additional crews will be in place later today and tomorrow. Once the storm passes through Kentucky Power’s territory, crews not needed in some areas will shift to assist those areas that are in need of help.

 

Customers can report outages and check the latest restoration information for their account anytime at kentuckypower.com/outages

 

Kentucky Power officials say individuals should stay away from all downed lines or sparking equipment, and keep children and pets away from fallen lines and anything the lines may touch.

 

The company is also asking residents not to approach power company personnel in the field due to the ongoing pandemic.