Power outages reported in Louisville as winter storm brings snow, bitter cold

Louisville Gas & Electric reported a number of power outages on Saturday night.

According to the LG&E Storm Outage map, almost 2,100 homes in Jefferson county were without power as of 8:45 p.m. The outages were primarily in the Chickasaw and Shawnee neighborhoods. Power was quickly restored by 9:30 p.m. to all but a few.

Another outage near Newburg along Rangeland Road had about 450 customers without power as of about 10 p.m.  No restoration time was given, but by 10:30 p.m., the map showed 172 without power. All were restored by midnight.

LG&E said it has been working throughout the year to prepare for winter weather situations, aiming to prevent outages and minimize how long the power is knocked out.

“Our crews have been here before,” said Drew Gardner with LG&E. “They know what we’re up against in these situations.”

Garner said the system handles snow pretty well, but wind and ice cause the most issues. But LG&E made upgrades to its infrastructure to make the grid stronger and withstand higher winds and a larger amount of ice.

The company also installed advanced meters that immediately let field workers know where outages are and automated reclosers that reroute power around outages to quickly restore power to some customers.

“We just ask that our customers also prepare,” Gardner said.

Credit: WDRB