‘We’ve lost everything’: KCK residents demand answers after weeklong power outages

Gamboa: "What has taken so long in restoring power over the past week?"

BPU spokesperson: "This was not a typical outage. The storm caused widespread physical damage to BPU’s electric system, and in some of the hardest-hit areas, crews rebuilt portions of the system from the ground up. Fallen trees, damaged poles, lines and equipment, and inaccessible areas added to the complexity of restoration. Power can go out in seconds, but rebuilding an electric system safely takes time. BPU partnered with significant additional resources and worked around the clock to restore service as safely and quickly as possible."

Gamboa: "Did aging infrastructure play a role in how long it took to restore power?"

BPU spokesperson: "There is no information indicating that aging infrastructure was responsible for power outages or the length of restoration. BPU has ongoing pole inspection, maintenance and vegetation-management programs designed to proactively maintain our electric system. What drove the restoration timeline was the severity and widespread nature of the storm damage. Trees and large limbs came down across the service area, damaging homes, utility poles, lines and electrical equipment. In the hardest-hit areas, crews had to rebuild portions of the system from the ground up."

Gamboa: "Should the BPU or UG have been more proactive in the weeks or months before managing tree growth to prevent outages like this?"

BPU spokesperson: "BPU manages vegetation around our electric infrastructure year-round; it is not something we begin doing only when severe weather is forecast. We have an established vegetation-management program that proactively trims trees and limbs near power lines to help protect system reliability. This storm brought down mature trees and large limbs across the service area. Vegetation and pole-management programs cannot eliminate the impact of an extreme weather event of this magnitude. I can speak to BPU’s vegetation-management responsibilities and practices, but I cannot speak on behalf of the Unified Government or its programs."

Gamboa: "Folks mentioned to Rachel (Wyandotte County Reporter Rachel Henderson) earlier this week that the BPU is offering free meters, is that true?"

BPU spokesperson: "BPU provides the physical electric meter at no cost to the customer; this is not a special storm-related program. If a meter was damaged during the storm, BPU will replace it. However, the weatherhead, service mast and meter box attached to the home are customer-owned equipment. If those components were damaged, they must be repaired by a licensed electrician before BPU can safely reconnect service. BPU does not charge customers to reconnect service once those repairs are complete."

Gamboa: "What message do you have to your customers about the recovery effort?"

BPU spokesperson: "We know that outages caused by the storm were an extraordinary hardship for our customers, especially those who were without power for several days. We’re grateful for their patience, their kindness to all the responding line crews, and for the way neighbors and the community looked out for one another throughout this event. We’re also incredibly grateful to our BPU employees and the hundreds of lineworkers, tree crews, contractors and mutual aid partners who came together to restore our community. As we move into recovery, we’ll review what we learned from an event this significant and find opportunities to make our system and our response stronger."