Kentucky co-op crews, KY Power to head south to face Hurricane Matthew

LOUISVILLE, Ky (WTVQ) — Over 80 linemen from Kentucky’s Electric Cooperatives, along with about 120 Kentucky Power employees and contractors, are heading south to assist with damage inflicted by Hurricane Matthew.

Workers from nine Kentucky electric co-ops left Friday morning, travelling toward South Carolina and the area between Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida as part of a staging effort by co-ops there.  Kentucky Power personnel are expected to arrive Friday, and will be assisting Florida Power and Light with outage restoration efforts.

As of Friday morning, more than 500,000 homes and businesses have been reported without power in Florida.  Governor Rick Scott of Florida has urged evacuations and President Barack Obama declared an emergency for the state.  Kentucky co-ops heading to the area include employees from South Kentucky RECC, Cumberland Valley RECC, Jackson Energy, Nolin RECC, Owen Electric, Blue Grass Energy, Salt River Electric, Shelby Energy, and Pennyrile RECC.