South Kentucky RECC, which is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, has sent 12 men to provide restoration assistance to wind-damaged northern Kentucky. The damage from Sunday’s wind storm was the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which ravaged parts of Texas.
Vice President of Engineering Steve Conover says the call for aid came yesterday (Sept. 14).
“Our employees will be going to assist Owen Electric Cooperative in northern Kentucky. There were reports of up to 75 mile per hour wind gusts yesterday, wreaking havoc with trees and limbs, causing power lines to go down. It is my understanding that our two (six-man) crews will be dispatched to the Walton, Ky., office of Owen Electric Co-op, which covers the counties of Boone and Campbell.”
Mike Cobb, with Owen Electric Cooperative, says the co-op has 57,000 members, of which 12,000 are without power at this time.
At peak yesterday (Sept. 14), 28,000 were without power. He adds that it is nice knowing that help is available when you most need it.
“We appreciate the assistance we have received from co-ops across the state. It is nice to know that we can count on our sister co-ops during times like these to help with restoration efforts.”
SKRECC CEO Allen Anderson says that he can’t express his appreciation enough to the employees and their families for making the sacrifices they make to help other communities and states when they are called on in crisis situations.
Conover says that the time that SKRECC crews spend away from home depends on how much work they have to do when they get to Owen Electric.
Locally, Conover says the South Kentucky RECC system suffered some damage, but nothing like the north and northwestern parts of the state. Outages began around 11 a.m. yesterday (Sept. 14), and at peak, about 1,500 members were without power, mostly due to tree limbs on lines. Outages were widespread and by approximately 10:30 last night, members, for the most part, had power restored.
