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(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — With little more than two months left in this year's hurricane season, the potential for significant weather events stemming from a hurricane still exists. As many may remember, it was nearly one year ago that Hurricane Sandy, the deadliest, most destructive of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, slammed the East Coast. Even remnants of hurricanes can cause widespread damage and during those times of crisis, even the best resources can benefit from help. For Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, that help comes in the form of several mutual assistance programs supporting the utilities' natural gas and electric operations. The programs are made up of a collection of utility companies that assist other utilities in times of natural disasters and crisis situations.

LG&E and KU are involved in four mutual assistance programs with Great Lakes Mutual Assistance, Midwest Mutual Assistance, Southeastern Electric Exchange and Southern Gas Association. They're partnerships that mean access to valuable resources and hundreds of crews from more than 20 states when mobilizing for large scale restoration efforts, and partnerships that have paid off countless times.

During restoration efforts following Hurricane Sandy, LG&E and KU mobilized 400 line technicians, tree crews and other personnel from across our service territories to assist PPL Electric Utilities and other northeast utilities impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Some of the same resources answered the call for assistance in our area five years earlier, after the 2008 windstorm caused by Hurricane Ike and the 2009 ice storm that hit just four months later. Those events garnered the largest emergency response resource levels in LG&E and KU history.
 

LG&E and KU also participate and have lead advancements in the Kentucky Emergency Management Private Sector Working Group initiative. The group is a collaborative network of corporations, businesses and industries that help fill the resource and supply chain gaps during emergency response and recovery efforts following natural disasters and crisis situations. The coordinated effort of providing critical supplies and services helps speed the recovery process for communities.

"We realized that if we planned ahead and leveraged certain businesses and resources, such as water, blankets and transportation, for example, during critical incidents, we could mitigate the impact of disasters," said Greg Thomas, vice president of Electric Distribution for LG&E and KU.

For more information on disaster preparedness, visit lge-ku.com/storm.



Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve a total of 1.2 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. Kentucky Utilities serves 546,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. More information is available at lge-ku.com and pplweb.com.