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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 10, 2021) – Electric cooperatives across Kentucky are stressing safety as they prepare for significant ice accumulation this week. With more than a quarter-inch of ice predicted for much of Kentucky, co-ops are gearing up for power restoration and encouraging co-op consumer-members to prepare accordingly.
In addition, United Utility Supply, a leading material supply organization serving the rural electric market, has activated its emergency pre-planning response plan at its 175,000 sq. ft. warehouse headquarters in Louisville.
“As a cooperative partner, UUS stands ready with material, personnel, and other co-op needs,” said Chris Perry, president and CEO of both United Utility Supply and Kentucky Electric Cooperatives.
Ahead of the winter storm, UUS moved material from its other warehouses to Kentucky and placed key vendors on alert to be ready to bolster supplies. UUS serves electric cooperatives in 17 states with a complete line of materials critical to the electric utility industry, such as transformers, conductor (electric wires), poleline hardware, grounding equipment, utility poles, tools, and safety supplies.
“The added weight of snow and ice may cause trees and limbs to fall into power lines, power lines to snap off the poles or cause the poles to break,” explained Charlie Lewis, storm coordinator at Kentucky Electric Cooperatives. “That can bring power lines into contact with the ground, trees, homes, vehicles and other objects. If people or pets come into contact with a live power line, they can suffer serious injury or even death.”
Due to these dangerous conditions, many residents may be confined to their homes for days at a time. That’s why it is important to have a plan in place. To prepare for prolonged outages, co-ops advise consumer-members to charge mobile phones and power banks and pack a storm preparedness kit stocked with:
Bottled water
Non-perishable food
Emergency blankets
First aid kit/medicine
Flashlight
Battery operated or hand-crank radio
Extra batteries
Toiletries
Meanwhile, Kentucky Electric Cooperatives is preparing to coordinate mutual aid response for co-ops that need assistance restoring power. Crews from surrounding states are ready to respond. Because the national network of transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by electric cooperatives is built to federal standards, line crews from any co-op in America can arrive on the scene ready to provide emergency support, secure in their knowledge of the system’s engineering.
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