LOUISVILLE, Ky. — September is National Preparedness Month and two Kentucky utilities companies are offering tips for making an emergency plan for your home. 

What You Need To Know

  • LG&E and KU suggest making an emergency kit in an airtight container to store all your emergency items in one place

  • Make a separate emergency kit for your car in case you need to evacuate

  • LG&E and KU customers can sign up for power outage texting to report an outage to 4LGEKU (454358) and to request status updates from their mobile device

  • If you suspect a natural gas leak, go immediately to a neighbor's home or an area away from the odor and call LG&E at 502-589-1444 (outside of Louisville at 800-331-7370) to report a potential gas leak

Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities sent out tips to help educate and empower others to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies.

Here’s what they suggest you do to prepare your home in the event of an emergency:

  • Make a plan: Whether at home or work, develop an emergency plan involving each person at your location so you’ll know how and where to meet, how you will contact each other and what to do in different situations.

  • Stock up and make a kit: Gather enough essentials for at least 72 hours, including necessary medicines, water, a crank-powered flashlight, first aid items, a battery-operated radio and extra batteries. Store stock-piled emergency supplies in one location, preferably in air-tight storage. You may have to evacuate at a moment’s notice and take essentials with you. Make an emergency preparedness kit and make sure each member of the household or work location knows where it will be stored. Be sure to make a kit for your vehicle as well.

  • Keep informed: When power outages occur, LG&E and KU customers can use the utilities’ mobile app to access and keep track of near real-time outage information on the utilities’ online outage map. Customers can also use the app to report their outage and more. 

LG&E and KU customers can also sign up for outage texting to report an outage to 4LGEKU (454358) and to request status updates from their mobile device. After customers text OUTAGE and the location of the outage being reported has been confirmed, customers can text STATUS at any time to receive updates regarding when their service might be restored. Once power is back on, the customer will receive a text confirming service has been restored.

  • Practice prevention: LG&E and KU customers are also encouraged to help prevent a potential emergency by knowing in advance the important steps to follow to have underground utilities lines marked before doing excavation work. This starts by contacting Kentucky 811, a free statewide computer-operated communication system that provides a link between excavators and operators of underground utilities.

Not only is using Kentucky 811 the law, using the service helps to protect the public from emergencies, avoid costly repairs and fines, and guard against the potential for disrupting service to an individual or entire neighborhood. When lines are properly marked in advance, the odds for avoiding dig-in dangers improves by 99%.

If you suspect a natural gas leak ALWAYS leave the area immediately. Do not use the phone, switch a light on or off, strike a match or spend time looking for the source. Go to a neighbor’s home or an area away from the odor and then call LG&E at 502-589-1444 (outside of Louisville at 800-331-7370) to report a potential gas leak.

National Preparedness Month is sponsored by the Federal Emergency Managament Agency and is observed each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. 

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