News Releases

All customers are now expected to be restored by Tuesday night

Kansas City, MO – May 27, 2024 – Evergy has made significant progress restoring power after storms moved through the area late Saturday and overnight Sunday. Power has been restored to nearly 90% of customers. As of 3:30 p.m. Monday about 16,000 customers remain without power. Evergy now expects to have all customers in the Kansas City metro restored by Tuesday night instead of Wednesday, and all customers in Wichita restored by tonight.

Nearly 900 additional workers from neighboring utilities such as Liberty Utilities in Joplin, and Alliant Energy in Iowa and Wisconsin arrived Sunday and Monday, along with additional local and regional contractors. The arrival and the efficient assignment of additional crews led Evergy to move up the estimated restoration time to Tuesday. Crews will continue to work until power is restored to all customers.

Damage assessment teams are also continuing to work in the field. Customers may see an Evergy pickup or other vehicle drive through a storm damaged area. While line crews are restoring power, damage assessment teams are investigating outages to ensure the vegetation and line crews arrive with the needed equipment to help make power restoration more efficient.

The storm moved from Wichita to Kansas City Saturday night and early Sunday morning, where it caused the most damage. A downburst brought straight-line 70 mph hour winds that lasted for about 10 minutes south of the I-70 corridor.

Those winds caused significant damage to poles and caused downed power lines. Evergy crews began restoration as soon as it was safe. Vegetation crews continue to clear limbs and debris from damaged infrastructure to make way for line crews to make repairs. Power restoration is prioritized to bring the largest number of customers back on as quickly and safely as possible, prioritizing public safety and critical infrastructure. 

Assume that any downed line is energized. Downed lines can be reported online at https://www.evergy.com/community/safety/electrical-safety/around-power-lines. 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. If you have an emergency, please call 911.

Customers should prioritize safety as restoration continues. 

• Avoid opening refrigerators and freezers frequently to keep food cold longer. Have non-perishable snacks accessible.
• Download the Evergy mobile app: You can report an outage and keep up with outage updates by downloading the Evergy mobile app: https://www.evergy.com/about-evergy/mobile-app  or visit the outage map online: https://outagemap.evergy.com/
• 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)