Who has power in KY? Outages at 75K and expected to climb as ice storm continues
More than 75,000 Kentuckians have been left without power Sunday morning during major winter storm that brought 1 to 4 inches of snow to much of the state and “major ice accumulations” to its southern and eastern regions.
Power outages rapidly rose Sunday morning following overnight ice. Around 12:33 p.m. Eastern, PowerOutage.US reported a total of 75,837 customers without power across Kentucky. The outages were most widespread across Southern and Southeastern Kentucky.
The top 10 counties with the greatest number of customers without power Sunday morning are Pulaski (11,362), Laurel (7,278), Barren (5,629), McCreary (4,554), Russell (4,483), Allen (4,313), Clay (4,238), Whitley (3,138), Monroe (2,650) and Wayne (2,499).
Outages were limited in Lexington and the surrounding areas, with 138 reported outages in Fayette County by about 12:40 p.m.
WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey expected the outages to spread, given the ongoing ice storm across Central and Eastern Kentucky, he wrote in a Sunday morning forecast blog.
“Freezing rain is adding up and we may very well have big power problems by the time you’re reading this. The worst fear of this storm was for freezing rain to become a bigger issue and here we are, folks,” Bailey wrote.
For the Lexington area, the National Weather Service in Louisville called for snow showers, freezing rain and sleet before 4 p.m. Sunday, followed by more snow showers possibly mixed with sleet. The temperature is expected to peak near 32 degrees by 11 a.m., then fall throughout the day. The low will be about 5 degrees, with wind chills as low as negative 4 degrees.
In a news conference Sunday morning, Gov. Andy Beshear urged Kentuckians to stay off the roads unless there’s an emergency and to remain weather aware.
“I’m anticipating challenges Monday morning, and depending on how cold it gets, I’m anticipating challenges potentially through Monday once the temperature gets below a certain amount, what we use to treat the roads just doesn’t work as well,” Beshear said.
Pulaski County, which is primarily served by South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. and KU, is still ground zero for the state’s outages. About 28% of the county’s residents are without power, according to the companies’ online power outages reporting sites.
Through the morning, power disruptions centered along a 40-county-wide swath of southern Kentucky have steadily moved northeast toward the West Virginia border as rain and a wintry mix continues to fall in the region.
Jackson Energy Cooperative and South Kentucky RECC are reporting the most lines down.
How to track & report power outages in KY
An outage map for Kentucky Utility customers can be viewed online. It updates every 15 minutes.
Kentucky Utilities customers can report power outages by texting “OUTAGE” to 454358. For outage updates, text “STATUS” to 454358. You can also track outages on a map or via KU’s mobile phone app.
Blue Grass Energy customers can report outages via an online form on the utility’s website. Track outages across the state with the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives outage map. Members should report their outages to their co-ops directly.
This story was originally published January 25, 2026 at 11:25 AM.