STAND AND DELIVER

Entergy's Response to Gustav

On September 1, Hurricane Gustav touched land near Cocodrie, Louisiana. The storm had already caused extensive damage and casualties in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. It was an unstoppable force of nature. Destructive. Unmerciful. And at Entergy, we were ready for it.

Gustav Timeline 2008

May

Entergy’s System Outage Response constantly monitors the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico for potential storms that could affect the Entergy service territory: SOR develops, coordinates, and conducts system storm drills.

August 18

Entergy began tracking Tropical Disturbance #42; moving westward at 12-15 mph.

One week later, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the storm, due to 40 mph winds.

August 19-25

Entergy activated its emergency response plan and began contacting front-line restoration workers from various parts of the Entergy system and from utilities and contractors across the United States and Canada.

August 26

Tropical Depression Gustav became Hurricane Gustav. Entergy coordinated efforts with the news media, Office of Emergency Planning and regulatory officials while implementing storm plans and preparing our First Wave Storm Team personnel to reposition ahead of general population evacuations in Louisiana.

August 27 – 31

Entergy initiated the setup of Louisiana staging sites. The System Command Center was fully activated, and local command centers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans were established.

Entergy began broadcasting preparation and safety announcements on the radio and in newspapers.

Entergy Customer Call Centers prepared for hugely increased call volume. Emergency pole and line orders were placed. Transformer repair shops were put on alert. And transformer suppliers were made aware of the impending demand of units and parts.

On August 31, 8,900 restoration workers were standing by or en route. Entergy was ready.

September 1-Gustav Strikes

Hurricane Gustav made landfall Monday, September 1, at approximately 10 a.m. The National Hurricane Center assigned Gustav a Category 2 rating – only one mile per hour below a Category 3. Maximum sustained winds reached 110 mph. Though its winds were not quite as powerful as Katrina’s, Gustav affected a much wider geographic area, creating a larger path of destruction.

Gustav’s Impact

In total, 241 transmission lines were knocked out. 53,185 circuit miles were affected. 354 substations were damaged. The southeast Louisiana area of the power grid was electrically “islanded”-almost cut off from the rest of the system by widespread transmission line outages. Nearly 11,000 poles and 4,400 transformers were damaged or destroyed. Approximately 829,000 Entergy customers, in Louisiana (including New Orleans), were without power. Hurricane Gustav caused the second-largest peak number of outages in Entergy’s 95-year history. And when Hurricane Ike hit Entergy’s service territory on the Texas and Louisiana coastlines 12 days later, our challenges only increased.

Entergy Responds

The plan for restoring power after Gustav and later, after Ike, included nearly 15,000 restoration workers from 26 states and Canada. In fact, Entergy accessed nearly 30 percent of all the available linemen east of the Rocky Mountains to restore power in the areas affected by the storms. In short, Entergy provided resources to a massive restoration force equivalent to 15 military battalions. The logistics challenges were staggering. More than 600,000 meals had to be prepared for this restoration army and nearly 2 million gallons of fuel were required to restore power to the affected areas of the Entergy system. It took 36 cargo vehicles to transport generators, tents, showers and cafeteria facilities to each restoration site.

A mammoth Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter was brought in to help ferry heavy equipment into remote areas of Plaquemines Parish saving time and minimizing damage to fragile marshlands. In addition, Entergy also tested a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Predator Drone – a pilotless reconnaissance plane to survey the lines from the air. In all, 27 helicopters, 22 airboats and 20 marsh buggies were pre-positioned before the arrival of Gustav for restoration use in difficult terrain.

Lives First

As in any emergency situation, the first priority was safety. The second was to re-establish power to vital centers including hospitals, shelters, and fire and police stations. The process was methodical and orderly, despite extreme conditions including high winds and heavy rain.

We reconnected the “islands” of areas virtually marooned and disconnected from the power grid by damaged lines, including the New Orleans metro area, and a corridor along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. We continually communicated to our customers through radio, television and print announcements. And we spoke to our customers personally. Entergy service representatives handled nearly 1 million customer calls during and after the storm.

Because of our planning and preparedness, Entergy’s response to Gustav proved faster than the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was, in fact, the fastest – and safest – major power restoration in company history.

A Tale of Two Cities: New Orleans and Baton Rouge

Many have wondered why power restoration progressed differently in Baton Rouge than in New Orleans. A significant reason can be summed up in a single word: trees. According to a 1995 report on the tree canopy of 58 U.S. cities, Baton Rouge had the highest percentage of tree cover among the cities surveyed. Trees become missiles of mayhem during a hurricane. They are swept into power lines, disrupting power and creating safety hazards to both customers and power crews alike. Prior to Gustav, Entergy had already completed 96 percent of its scheduled tree trimming for the year in Louisiana. The massive number of trees downed by Gustav in the Baton Rouge area did significant damage to our electric system and presented difficult challenges to restoration teams.

The System Did Its Job

Entergy’s electric power facilities are and will continue to be designed and constructed to consistently meet or exceed the requirements of the National Electric Safety Code. In recent years, we constructed more transmission lines with concrete, steel, or hybrid structures – and increased their resistance to wind by 10 mph.

As a result, Entergy’s distribution system performed admirably against Gustav’s enormous power.

Yes, as some have proposed, we could invest millions or even billions of dollars in reinforced poles and underground lines for future storms. But no amount of “hardening” will prevent hurricanes from causing widespread damage. More important, the cost to our customers would far outweigh the benefits.

• Many studies by state regulators and academic researchers have shown that underground distribution lines cost taxpayers and customers up to 10 times more than overhead distribution lines.

• A state of Florida proposal in 2003 suggested that installing underground lines would result in a rate increase for customers of 80 percent to 125 percent.

• Underground lines are much more difficult and expensive to maintain and repair than overhead lines during an emergency or outage.

• Many state regulatory agencies have found that the cost of burying power lines vastly exceeds the benefit provided.

To view the complete report regarding underground line installation, including a North Carolina case study, click here.

Nationally recognized for its restoration expertise and performance, Entergy is the only utility in the nation to win the Edison Electric Institute’s restoration or assistance award every year since the awards were established in 1998.

Aftermath: The Lessons Learned

Like Katrina and Rita before, Gustav did not destroy us. The storm made us stronger. Gustav only underscored the lessons we at Entergy have learned from years of experience in dealing with natural disasters – experience that we put into action:

• Prepare for the worst.
• Never let your guard down.
• Safety trumps speed.
• Practice, practice, practice.

“Keeping the lights on” is a collaboration between Entergy, our customers, government officials and the alliances with utilities and contractors coast to coast that we’ve forged through years of experience and cooperation. We never could have prevailed without each one working in concert with the others. We take a great deal of pride in providing our customers and communities with safe and reliable power year-round, and no one wants to get your power back on after the storm more than we do. We are grateful for the dedication and commitment of our employees and those who came to help us get the lights back on. We are equally grateful to have you as our customer. We thank you for your patience and cooperation. Rest assured that Entergy stands ready.