Saturday's storm leaves thousands without power

Nita Johnson, The Sentinel Echo, London, Ky.
·2 min read

Apr. 5—If April comes in like a lion, the arrival of May should be a peaceful entrance as severe storms moved through the area early Saturday morning.

High winds caused many trees to uproot and fall over power lines, causing power outages throughout the region as the storm raged on with high winds, thunderstorms with heavy rain and tornado threats all around.

Jackson Energy customers were the most impacted, with officials reporting over 8,700 members of the electrical co-op being affected by the harsh weather.

Lisa Baker, executive administrative assistant with Jackson Energy, said over 120 workers braved the aftermath of the storms in efforts to restore power to its customers. That service involved going into rough terrain to remove trees and replace broken power lines.

"The crews were focused on the mission at hand and worked closely to restore power as quickly and safely as possible," Baker said in a press release.

The need was immediate and power restoration was achieved through the assistance of other electric co-operatives from across Kentucky as well as contractor crews and several right-of-way crews. Those included Nolin Rural Electric, Warren Russell, West Kentucky, Inter-County Energy, Bluegrass Energy, Davis H. Elliott Company, W. A. Kendal & Company, and Phillips Tree Experts.

The press release states that more than 200 individual customers were re-connected with electric power and 40 broken poles were replaced. While crews were repairing those issues, Jackson Energy also received numerous calls of wires being down and trees across power lines.

"At Jackson Energy, the safety of our members and employees is our number one priority. We appreciate the efforts of all our crews as they worked safely, yet diligently, to restore service to our members," said Carol Wright, President & CEO.

To report a power outage, contact Jackson Energy's automated phone system at 800-262-7480 or through the SmartHub app.

The weekend storm was the third significant windstorm in a month. Such weather events often interfere with the purpose of Jackson Energy's mission — to provide electrical power to the residents of the area. Storms such as those moving through on Saturday interfere with that mission, but the dedicated crews brave the aftermath in order to restore power as quickly as possible.