Kansas city on ice: KCP&L classifies the January 2002 ice storm as the worst natural disaster in the utility's 120-year history

摘要

On the morning of Jan.31, 2002, 305,000 of the 450,000 customers (68%) of Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.) were without electric service. Approximately 200 of KCP&L's 550 (36%) metropolitan Kansas City area major circuits experienced an outage. Remarkably, by the end of the next day, crews had restored service to nearly 200,000 customers with essentially all customers back in service by the evening of Feb. 9, 2002. Ice accumulations up to 2 inches (5 cm) on trees caused unprecedented damage. Even the most aggressive tree-trimming practices would not have prevented the types of catastrophic tree damage experienced in this storm. The extreme amount of ice buildup caused large trees from well outside the utility's right-of-way (RIW) or easement to break, split and fall. As a result, KCP&L poles and conductors that normally are not affected by wind or ice storms were severely damaged. How did KCP&L react to this 100year storm? The utility relied upon its Storm Evaluation and Restoration Plan (SERP), which it created in 1984.