LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Power has been out for thousands of homes and businesses in Louisville since Friday's storms.
By Monday afternoon, Louisville Gas & Electric's storm outage map listed just under 30,000 people in Jefferson County without power. The company said some customers may not have power restored until Wednesday night.
Jefferson County Public Schools canceled classes Monday because power was out in multiple buildings along with internet access. A decision is pending for Tuesday, but only three schools and a bus compound were without power by Monday afternoon.
Some businesses without power are being hit with major losses, including ValuMarket on Bardstown Road in the Highlands. The supermarket lost everything in its freezer case and other fresh items. On Monday afternoon, employees were filling carts of merchandise that had to be thrown away.
LG&E and Kentucky Utilities has been using the Kentucky Expo Center as a staging area for hundreds of crews including out-of-state lineman helping with restoration. When the linemen go into the field, sometimes the repairs are quick fix, but others are more involved.
Spokeswoman Liz Pratt said this was a significant storm for the utility. High winds brought down more than 2,500 power lines and snapped 230 utility poles. LG&E officials said they have all the resources available to make these repairs, but it will take time with such extensive damage.
Leaders across Kentucky said more than 500,000 people statewide lost power from Friday's storms, and according to Pratt, more than 356,000 LG&E customers lost power.
"The magnitude of this storm cannot be understated, and that's because based upon the system impacts and the number of customers affected," Pratt said. "This is the third most significant event to impact our system in the last 20 years, and that's only behind the ice and wind storms of 2009 and 2008, respectively."
The power restoration and outage numbers continue to change, as crews are work around the clock. LG&E said anyone without power should continue to report their outages and stay away from downed power lines as they could be dangerous.
To check the LG&E/KU storm outage map, click here.
Related Stories:
- EF-1 tornado confirmed in Jefferson County, Indiana during Friday's storm
- Power restored to all but 3 JCPS schools in Louisville, 14 still without internet
- LG&E, KU deploys crews from other states to help restore power to Kentuckians
- Louisville nonprofit Dare to Care setting up mobile pantry for severe weather victims
- Louisville opening free storm debris drop-off sites for Jefferson County residents on Monday
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