KU and LG&E sending more than 100 technicians to help restore power in New Orleans
Kentucky utility crews are headed to New Orleans and Louisiana after Hurricane Ida knocked out power to nearly 1 million customers.
Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas & Electric have released about 119 line technicians as of Monday to help restore power in Louisiana, said Daniel Lowry, a spokesman for the utility company.
“We’ve been monitoring the forecast and participating in mutual assistance calls since Friday regarding Hurricane Ida,” Lowry said.
KU will have enough available crews in Kentucky to handle any power outages, he said. The National Weather Service has predicted heavy rainfall starting Monday and has issued a flood watch for much of Central Kentucky, including Lexington, on Tuesday.
“We take many factors into consideration, including the weather heading toward our service territories, when allocating resources,” Lowry said.
Ida’s winds tore down major transmission lines in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Entergy and Cleco, two power suppliers in the area, were reporting upwards of 950,000 customers without power on Monday. Local officials have said it could take weeks to restore power.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 2:26 PM.
