KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ahead of the winter weather forecasted to hit Kansas City this week, utility providers are working to avoid downed power lines and widespread outages.
"We have an advanced tree trimming program that goes across our entire service area, to put ourselves in the best situation possible," Evergy's Andrew Baker said.
Independence Power & Light Deputy Director Joseph Hegendeffer says their team keeps a continuous watch for outages.
"We have a whole crew that monitors those tree branches and does look at different areas all the time," Hegendeffer said.
They’re considering lessons from last year too — power had to be conserved locally as a widespread regional cold snap threatened the integrity of the power grid.
"We are increasing on site fuel storage at power plants where we can and identifying alternatives to natural gas," Baker said.
Hegendeffer says Independence Power & Light is also keeping its fuel tanks "a little bit fuller."
Utility leaders say they’re glad there isn’t a lengthy run of negative temperatures in the forecast. Staffing is normal and ready to respond, but customers can do their part too.
"Be patient, Independence has some of the best records for recovery times, so we will get to you," Hegendeffer said.
Baker, with Evergy, advised having a communication plan in place with family members and friends to keep everyone accounted for.
He also suggested preparing a safety kit to be ready for the coming winter storm.
"So make sure your cell phone is fully charged. Make sure you have batteries, a battery powered radio, make sure you have non-perishable foods, just the event that you would experience an outage that you're properly taking care of if we if we see that kind of weather," Baker said.
