Winter Storm Update: Nolin RECC

Winter Storm Update w/ Sarah Fellows of Nolin RECC

[00:01] – Kevin Jaggers
94.3 The Wolf. Good morning. On the phone with me from Nolin RECC is Sarah Fellows. Sarah, good morning.

[00:08] – Sarah Fellows
Morning, Kevin. How are you doing?

[00:10] – Kevin Jaggers
Doing okay. I’m watching sleet fall outside the window right now. I know you’ve been busy this morning as well. We’re seeing some outages near Upton—can you confirm that?

[00:26] – Sarah Fellows
That’s right. Outages began around 7:00 this morning, right as we were on the line between sleet and freezing rain, and we’re still dealing with that mix. The southern part of our service territory—southern Hardin County into Hart County, and over into Larue and Grayson counties—is seeing the brunt of the outages right now.

We’ve actually been fairly fortunate so far. Areas farther south in Kentucky are seeing significantly more outages. At this point, we’re at about 450 members without power, and crews are already out working to restore service. As soon as outages began, crews were dispatched early this morning. Conditions are difficult, but they’re working as quickly and safely as possible. They’ll remain out until all members have power restored.

[01:34] – Kevin Jaggers
So about 450 members affected near Upton. Folks can check estimated restoration times on your website, correct?

[01:42] – Sarah Fellows
Yes. If you go to nolinrecc.com, right on the homepage you’ll find our Outage Center. That includes our outage map, estimated restoration times, and a lot of helpful resources on how to prepare for outages.

If your account is affected, you’ll typically see an estimated time of restoration. That is just an estimate, of course, because a lot depends on conditions and whether we see additional damage.

[02:17] – Kevin Jaggers
Absolutely.

[02:18] – Sarah Fellows
Right now, the biggest concern is freezing rain. Ice adds a tremendous amount of weight to power lines, trees, and poles. That’s when we tend to see the most outages. As long as freezing rain remains part of the forecast, additional outages are possible.

Even when precipitation switches back to snow, the ice will remain on the lines because of the cold temperatures. That can continue to cause issues.

I really want to stress safety as well. If you see a downed power line, do not go anywhere near it. One of our linemen shared a video showing a line that had been energized earlier and was burning the ground around it. Even if a line appears inactive, it can still be extremely dangerous.

If you see a downed line, stay far away—at least 50 feet or more—and keep people and animals away. You can report it through the hazardous reporting form on our website. Never assume it’s a telecom line. Treat every line as energized.

We also provide frequent updates on our social media pages—Facebook, Instagram, and X—typically every couple of hours.

[04:42] – Kevin Jaggers
A lot of important information there from Sarah Fellows with Nolin RECC regarding outages near Upton. You can check their website for outage updates, estimated restoration times, and safety information. Sarah, thank you so much for taking the time this morning.

[05:00] – Sarah Fellows
Thanks, Kevin. Good to talk to you.

Winter Storm Update