Pike County Judge Executive Wayne T. Rutherford has asked David Armstrong, chairman of the PSC, if the commission has a statutory obligation to prevention maintenance.
“What happened is pure neglect by American Electric Power/Kentucky Power,” Rutherford said in a letter to Armstrong. “This entire situation was uncalled for. Trees were uncut, hanging on or near power lines and power poles.”
During the period following the storm, Pike County purchased and distributed kerosene to citizens to use for heat. According to Pike Emergency Services Director Doug Tackett, 9,000 gallons of fuel were bought, at a cost of $28,000.
Water service was also interrupted, as pump stations could not operate without electricity.
Tackett said the outages were widespread, affecting 30,000 people.
“The power was out a long time, from Dec. 18 until the 27th in some places,” Tackett said. “A lot of people have said they have called the power company [to complain], but got no help.”
According to information obtained from Kentucky Power, the utility company follows standards of maintenance set forth by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company’s policy is “to remove all trees within the rights of way of power lines if the distance from the conductors to the ground is less than 100 feet.”
In areas where the distance is more than 100 feet from wires to the ground, “only vegetation that will potentially interfere with the operation of the line is removed.”
Judge Rutherford said the county attorney’s office has hired a research firm to determine if any of the cost of storm recovery performed by the county can be recovered.
“Pike County plans to take action against any and all parties that hold any responsibility,” this letter to the PSC said.
Doug Tackett said the damage the county received is the worst he has seen as Emergency Services Director.
“We have had a lot of storms,” Tackett told the Daily News. “But we have never had such problems.”
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