Years of power problems in Liberty neighborhood concerning residents
LIBERTY, Mo. — Power outage issues in Liberty have been a concern for homeowners for years. Since FOX4 reported on one neighborhood four years ago, residents say it’s not getting any better.
FOX4 first featured Karen Bartlett in the Clay Woods neighborhood on May 7, 2019.
“It’s not always directed just toward the storms. Sometimes it can be a clear day. The sun is shining, and we just randomly lose power, without any explanation,” Bartlett said in an interview with FOX4 four years ago.
In November of this year, Bartlett said things haven’t really changed when it comes to her power.
Platte City woman fights against ‘nightmare’ fake home lien
“Now, we are in 2023, and we have three to four outages, and we’re not even through a full year at this point.”
On Aug. 14, Bartlett said power went out to parts of her neighborhood. The weather that day in the KC metro was nice with a 25 mph breeze.
“On Aug. 14, the cause of that outage was vegetation,” Evergy spokesperson Courtney Lewis said in an email to FOX4. “The outage lasted just over 90 minutes, and power was restored.”
Later Thursday, Lewis said the vegetation was on the lines due to winds that day.
“That one I’m not familiar with,” Liberty City Councilman Jeff Watt said in an interview with FOX4 Thursday when asked about the August outage. “But like I said, I know for a fact when September hit because obviously I was standing in it. I stood in that storm.”
Watt’s talking about Sept. 23 when a microburst hit the city.
Harrisonville business owner warning customers of food delivery scam
Two days later, FOX4 was there as people were still picking up debris. Bartlett told FOX4 her power went out that day. Lewis confirmed that.
“I was on the square for Fall Festival,” Watt said. “A lot of the community was coming up to enjoy the day, and all of a sudden the winds are just coming through the downtown buildings, almost like a hurricane. You know, 80 mph winds came through.”
He also offered up another explanation for why power’s gone out in the city since that microburst.
“I still feel that a lot of right now are tree branches still continuing to fall randomly from the storm in September,” Watt continued.
Bartlett also had an outage Oct. 26 this year where there was rain and wind gusts up to 30 mph. There was no severe weather that day, though. Lewis said the reason for the outage was an equipment failure, and power was only out for 51 minutes.
Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android
“My concern is the upcoming cold weather moving in, and last year in December, we had a very long power outage where temperatures in most of our homes dropped down to 60 degrees,” Bartlett said.
“Evergy is also in contact with customers who have reached out to us recently by social media regarding outages in Liberty,” Lewis said.
The Missouri Public Service Commission regulates companies like Evergy. A spokesman for the group advises you to call 1-800-392-4211 if you feel like you can’t get your issue resolved with your utility.
