It will be a white Christmas for many across the Commonwealth, but it will also be a dangerously cold holiday. Kentuckians are dealing with frigid temperatures and some snowfall entering the Christmas weekend. Temperatures across most of the commonwealth dipped below zero Thursday into Friday and aren’t expected to reach double digits in many areas until Saturday.
Power outages are adding to the problem. More than ten thousand Kentucky Utilities customers have been without electricity. The number of outages went from about 12,000 down to half that. But KU’s Daniel Lowry said winds are complicating restoration.
“These winds have been the real issue. The winds keep on causing problems. They knock trees and tree limbs into the lines. And that cause more,” said Lowry.
Fortunately, the transition from rain to snow happened relatively quickly and icing of power lines hasn’t been a significant issue.
Lowry said a power outage at a residence is even more challenging now because of the extremely low temperatures. So, going out to seek a warmer location can be difficult. Lowry noted a charged phone may be able to keep up with power restoration through the KU mobile app.
Lowry said KU has not put out a request for utility crews from other states to lend a hand. He added many states are facing similar, if not worse situations than those found in Kentucky.
The high usage of electricity to heat homes has stressed the distribution system. So L-G and E and KU Company is implementing service interruptions of about 30 minutes for some customers. The utility asked that customers do what they can to conserve power by adjusting the thermostat to the lowest comfortable level. Also, lower the thermostat even more if away from the house for more than four hours. Wearing heavier clothing inside can help as well.
To help avoid utility bill shock the next month or so, Daniel Lowry said lowering the thermostat by one degree can save two percent on a bill.
Statewide, power outages for all utilities Friday night stood at just under 10,000.
Kentucky Power provides service to about 165,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties. Power outages fell from about 3200 to 2200 early Friday afternoon and was at around 250 Friday night. Sarah Nusbaun is in corporate communications for Kentucky Power. She said wind is the big factor in restoration in the utility’s service territory. And Nusbaun realizes power outages are never welcomed, but this timing is even more difficult.
“Any power outage is upsetting for customers and especially during this Christmas holiday weekend that we’ve got coming up. We definitely sympathize with anyone who is out of power and just want them to know we have the crews out there and they’re working hard to get everyone restored as quickly as possible.”
Nusbaun said the goal is to see 95% of customers restored by Saturday night, but admittedly, the windy conditions could be a factor in meeting that objective.
In central Kentucky, John Bobel with Emergency Management says streets and roads crews were out Thursday night. He said pre-treatment was not a viable option because of rainy conditions. The chemicals would have been washed away.
Bobel noted salt and plowing is taking place, but some sunshine on a cold day helps.
“The sun is mother nature’s snow plow. And that, for the most part, is what we all have to wait for. I mean, the best thing to do today is just stay inside wait for the sun to do its job. Let the road crews do their job. We don’t expect it to be above freezing until next Tuesday,” said Bobel.
Bobel said any effort to warm a house without electricity must be done with safety in mind. He said not to use a charcoal grill, the oven or a propane heater to heat a home. People should not bring their generator inside. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a life-threatening concern.
Bobel says running a stream of water is even more important in a powerless house.
“Leave your water running. Just let it drip a little bit. Because if you don’t have heat in your home, the next worst thing is to have burst pipes when they freeze up. That can be an entirely different disaster for a homeowner.”
Bobel is with Lexington Emergency Management and he said emergency sheltering is available at places like the Catholic Action Center and Salvation Army in downtown Lexington. Bobel added a retail site like Fayette Mall could provide a warm location. The ongoing safety message during these almost arctic-like conditions is stay home if at all possible.
LG&E and KU are financial supporters of WEKU.
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