After the weekend’s storms, thousands of families in Kentucky were left without power. Kentucky’s 26 electric cooperatives are making great progress restoring electric service and are advising consumer-members on how long it will take until power is restored for everyone.

Co-ops reported that at the height of the outage, over 98,000 consumer-members without power. As of 10:00 AM (EST) on Tuesday, May 28, about 36,000 members were without power. For an updated outage map, click here.

Due to the high number of members without power, sister co-ops have come to lend aid in various regions: Fleming-Mason Energy sent a crew to Meade County RECC; Owen Electric sent ten crews to Cumberland Valley Electric; Pennyrile Electric welcomed contractors and cooperatives from Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and Georgia; and Gibson Electric received assistance from Pickwick Electric and Forked Deer Electric in Tennessee, Cruse Powerline in Mayfield and Tennessee Valley Electric.

“It is our top priority to ensure that our consumer-members’ lights turn back on as soon as possible,” said Chris Perry, president and CEO of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives. “That’s why we are so proud of our 26 electric cooperatives’ diligent work to restore power quickly and safely.”

On Monday, Governor Beshear updated the Commonwealth on the status of power outages, fatalities caused by storm damage and the resiliency of Kentuckians. He was joined by Kentucky Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray. Read the press release here.

“Communities across Kentucky experienced storms that produced strong winds, multiple tornadoes and hail in some places. The storm knocked out power for thousands of Kentuckians, temporarily shut down numerous roads and interstates, and caused massive damage to homes and businesses,” said Governor Beshear. “But like we always see after severe weather events, first responders and everyday Kentuckians rallied to help each other in those toughest moments.”

“Crews mobilized yesterday and worked through the day and overnight to help clear roads of trees on state-maintained routes and to support first responder and utility restoration efforts,” said Secretary Gray. “Clearing roadways could take time, especially if it requires clearing downed power lines first. Our Team Kentucky crews are dedicated to keeping travelers safe. Please watch out for them on the roads, drive alert and slow down.”