Work to restore power to thousands continues in southern Kentucky

SOMERSET, Ky. (WKYT) - Utility crews continue working to restore power to thousands of Kentuckians who lost electricity during the recent ice storm.

Most of the outages remain in Pulaski County, where multiple crews including dozens from out of state are working 16-hour shifts. Some crews work through the night in dangerously cold conditions.

The restoration work takes crews to remote areas with treacherous road conditions. Piney Grove Road remains slick with snow and ice, and crews have had to navigate even worse conditions to reach some outages.

“The biggest challenge in my opinion is to keep everyone safe as we try to get the lights back on as fast as possible,” said Eric Chumbley of South Kentucky RECC. “At no point can we sacrifice safety for speed but we are doing as much as we can and working around the clock to try to get everybody back on.”

Crews are replacing broken poles and salvaging equipment when possible. One crew expects to restore power to approximately 50 households once their current line repair is completed.

South Kentucky officials said they have had some vehicles damaged but all crewmen have avoided injuries so far.