LG&E unveils new infrastructure meant to better withstand severe weather in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville Gas & Electric unveiled new equipment Friday with the goal of being more reliable when severe weather hits.

LG&E spokesperson Drew Gardner said storms are getting stronger by the year, and the power grid needs to keep up. At the company's operations center just west of the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, leaders showed off that new investment. The company strengthened lines and some wooden poles, swapping out some that are past their lifetime for others made of steel.

"When it comes to poles and wires, we're making them stronger to withstand higher winds," Gardner said Friday. "Previously, it was 40 mile per hour winds that they could withstand. We're upgrading that up to 100 miles per hour."

Last month, the Kentucky Public Service Commission finalized new rate increases for LG&E and KU customers. The utilities' original request was a roughly 10% hike on electric bills and about 15% on gas bills. But a month later, a settlement agreement lowered the rate increases.

With the rate hikes — which take effect immediately — the average LG&E customer will pay about $5 more per month, and the average gas customer will pay about $8 more per month. The average KU customer will pay nearly $9 more per month.

That new revenue for the company turn into infrastructure investments, LG&E said.

"That increase is going directly to these efforts," Gardner said.

LG&E electrical engineer Brandon Calia said they're also installing electronic reclosers on the power distribution system, helping restore power for some customers during widespread outages.

"They are basically like light switches on our power system. It allows us to turn the power on and off automatically," Calia said. "We're looking at trying to have one recloser per every 300 customers on our system."

LG&E is planning to install more 400 electronic reclosers on the system this year with over 2,000 already in place, additional investment Gardner said is necessary for the power grid.

"We know that being without power disrupts people's daily lives. It disrupts their businesses," he said. "So the goal with these investments is to limit these disruptions."