LG&E and KU deploy headed to Florida before Hurricane Irma makes landfall

LOUSIVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are headed to Florida to help with utility assistance.

LG&E and KU officials say they will be releasing nearly 190 employee and contractor line technicians, team leaders, tree trimmers and additional support staff to assist Duke Energy Florida, and Florida Power and Light. Crews are being dispatched from areas across the LG&E and KU service territories including Lexington, Louisville, Earlington, Elizabethtown and Maysville, Kentucky; and Norton, Virginia.

They say the crews and resources mobilized and began the trip south Thursday morning. Once they arrive, they’ll participate in pre-staging activities while they await further assignments based on the hurricane’s path and areas impacted.

According to officials more than 50 of LG&E and KU’s contractors remain in Texas, where they arrived last weekend, continuing to assist American Electric Power with restoration efforts following Hurricane Harvey.