News Releases

Evergy has restored power to 95% of customers who were impacted overnight Sunday by the severe storms that moved through Kansas and into Missouri, some producing winds in excess of 100 mph. Over the course of the storm, more than 106,000 Evergy customers lost power.

More than 1,600 personnel are in the field working on stages of power restoration. Evergy crews began restoring power Sunday as soon as it was safe to do so. In addition to local crews, Evergy crews from other communities, contractors and crews from Liberty Utilities have joined to assist with the restoration work Monday. To clear extensive tree damage, 175 vegetation crews have been working in storm-struck areas to help remove limbs and debris so that line crews can repair outages.  

For customers who are still without power, most communities will be fully restored by this evening. In the communities where storms caused the most damage -- Hutchinson, Newton, areas of Johnson County (Prairie Village, Shawnee, Overland Park), and the Northland (Parkville, Weatherby Lake, Gladstone, Riverside) – some customers may be without power until Wednesday evening. Crews will continue to work until everyone’s power is back on. 

Some areas experienced extensive damage to the transmission and distribution systems. More than 105 transmission poles have been replaced in the Hutchinson and Newton areas. These large lines help transport power from power sources to customers. Crews have been able to restore service to many of the "backbone" system components and are now starting to focus on repairs that restore power to smaller areas and individual neighborhoods. This is when we see one outage impacting smaller numbers of customers. The additional support from Liberty Utilities helps us greatly with more people available to work those outages. We appreciate the patience of all customers impacted and thank them for their support of our men and women as they work until all customers are restored.  

We are monitoring weather forecasts that predict more storms on Tuesday afternoon with the areas of highest risk said to be St. Joseph, Mo., and the surrounding area.  

In some instances, trees or other storm damage has caused the equipment that houses the electric meter to pull away from the home or business, creating an unsafe condition. The home or business owner will need a licensed electrician to make repairs before power can safely be restored.  When this is the case, Evergy communicates with the customer directly with a doorhanger to identify the equipment that needs to be repaired or replaced. 

 Customers are reminded to prioritize safety.   

• Stay at least 35 feet away from downed power lines or limbs on lines. Do not try to remove tree limbs or brush from downed lines or anywhere near power lines. Assume that any downed line is energized. If you have an emergency, please call 911.  
• Keep your phone charged if possible. Follow updates from local authorities and from Evergy for restoration times and safety advice.  
• Customers can also track outages online through the Evergy Outage Map.  
• Customers can also call Evergy. Kansas residents served by Evergy Kansas Central can call 800-LIGHT KS (800-544-4857). Customers in the Kansas City metro area and Missouri can call 888-LIGHT-KC (888-544-4852).