Lawrence couple questions Evergy policy after power outage in high heat

A Lawrence couple is voicing concerns about what could’ve happened when Evergy unexpectedly cut their electricity for hours on a 90-degree day this week.

The City of Lawrence had notified northwest Lawrence residents Will Averill and Jacqueline Grunau that construction would be taking place on their block. However, they weren’t prepared for their power to be suspended for multiple hours in the middle of the day Wednesday.

Averill says it’s lucky that Grunau, who usually goes to work outside city limits, was home around 9:30 a.m. when she heard a knock at the door.

Upon answering, an Evergy employee let her know that their power would be cut in the next 30 minutes and “it could be down all day,” according to Averill. They had received no prior warning of this possible outage.

Since Grunau was home, she was able to safely relocate their pet, who would have otherwise been left on the top floor that is prone to overheating. She could also “get the refrigerator stuff taken care of,” Averill said, so that they didn’t lose “hundreds of dollars in groceries.”

Power outages can happen anytime from unpreventable acts of nature. But this situation, which seemed to be within Evergy’s control, left Averill and Grunau unsettled because of the lack of advance notice and possible repercussions.

“I just got super paranoid, because I feel like it could have been a bad scene for our dog,” Averill said. “It’s just the lack of communication combined with the potential for, like, losing all our food and maybe our dog, just felt real gross.” 

Grunau told Averill that they lost power from about 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to Weather Underground, Wednesday temperatures started at 85 degrees at 9:52 a.m. with 63% humidity, and reached 91 degrees by 1:53 p.m. with 48% humidity.

As temperatures rise, people and pets become more susceptible to conditions such as heat stroke, heat cramps and heat exhaustion. Heat can also negatively impact preexisting medical conditions.

Gina Penzig, a spokesperson for Evergy, said via email that work involving outages is often “planned days or weeks in advance.” In those cases, “If an outage is expected to last more than a few hours, we will notify the affected customers by phone call or letter.”

Penzig added that “If it is going to be extremely hot or cold, we reschedule the work. In the case of heat, we may complete the work early in the day or even at night when temperatures are lower. Rain or expected rain can also impact schedules because we may need to drive heavy trucks onto areas of grass and we want to avoid damaging lawns.”

Averill shared his frustrations about the situation Wednesday with some friends and acquaintances, one of whom works for Evergy. This person said that Evergy’s policy says customers need to receive notice 24 hours in advance of power suspension if work is expected to last more than four hours. Grunau estimated that they were without power for 4.5 hours.

Penzig confirmed that this is general practice and said that extenuating circumstances, such as emergent work or weather conditions, can lead to shorter notification times. “It’s also worth noting that work can take longer than expected to complete,” she said.

Penzig clarified that, while still planned, some work is emergent and may include repairs that need immediate attention to avoid a more widespread, unplanned outage. In some instances, crews “may have put a temporary repair in place restoring power and now need to complete a permanent repair,” Penzig said.

She additionally wrote, “When these repairs are made, we may call in advance or we may knock on doors and, if no one answers, leave a door hanger. How far in advance we provide notice depends on how long we expect the work to take and how critical it is to get the work completed right away.”

It was unclear if Evergy classified the outage in Averill’s neighborhood as a necessary, immediate repair.

Considering the “pretty severe potential repercussions,” Averill felt that the way Evergy handled the situation was “to the point of almost being criminally negligent.”

Evergy customers can register to receive outage alerts via text or email at this link.

The city’s website hosts educational materials on heat-related illness safety with information on detection and care.

Evergy has recently proposed a rate increase “that includes a 15% hike to residential electric rates” to recoup funds the company says it has already invested in central Kansas infrastructure, according to Kansas Reflector. The Kansas Corporation Commission disagrees with the requested increase. People may submit written comments to KCC online, by mail or by calling 800-662-0027 until 5 p.m. Monday, July 14.

Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.

Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.

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