Although Entergy New Orleans employees give back to the community in which they live and work all year long, they wanted to give back in a special way during National Volunteer Month by helping those in need.
Extremely cold weather can create heavy demand for power and affect the electric system, causing outages that may take longer than normal to restore. Here’s why:Extremely low temperatures of 25 degrees or less cause abnormally high demand for power that can create isolated overloads of the electric distribution system. In most cases, extremely high demand occurs in areas where customers have all-electric homes.Heating systems and appliances are often left on during initial service disruption, creating too much energy demand all at once when power is restored. Electric heaters in particular can create a constant power demand, as they tend to run continuously and do not power off and on during periods of extreme cold.This demand causes restoration to take place in sections rather than in larger compositions.“During cold weather extremes, we use a methodical and calculated process to bring customers back online after an outage,” said Dennis Dawsey, Entergy’s vice president of customer service in Louisiana. “Rather than simply energizing an entire power line at once, we must bring customers back online one section at a time to avoid damage to our distribution system and make the situation worse. This takes more time to restore power to affected customers than if we were able to restore the entire line at the same time.”Customers should monitor the weather and have a plan. Click here to view our Storm Ready Guide, which has a section on preparing for extreme winter weather. Also, for winter energy-efficiency tips, view our recent news releases located along the sidebar to the right of this article.
Mark Russell, senior construction and maintenance mechanic with Entergy New Orleans. He’s been a part of the Entergy family for nine years.What is your power principle?Just as safety is Entergy’s core value, it’s mine too. I always strive to keep safety first in all I do, and to help my co-workers do the same, so that the entire team can go home to our families each evening the same way we came to work that morning.What motivates you to live and work safely?My family motivates me. Not only do I want to provide for them, but I also want to be a good husband and father, as well as a good friend and coach to all. None of that is possible if I don’t live and work safely.
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, Entergy New Orleans was recognized at the New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation’s Stake Out for Justice luncheon with the 2017 Corporate Responsibility award.
Now that Harvey has moved northeast and its feeder bands are no longer affecting the Gulf Coast, several members of Entergy New Orleans’ Central Business District crew are heading to Texas to help restore Beaumont’s downtown network.
As temperatures continue to rise, so does the financial pressure on the Crescent City’s elderly and disabled customers.
Kim Mitchell is a community development program representative for Entergy New Orleans and has been a part of the Entergy family for 30 years.
The official Earth Day events may have taken place in April, but that didn’t stop Entergy employees across the metro New Orleans area from volunteering in local environmental projects long after the celebration was over.
Energy Smart and Green Light New Orleans are teaming up to offer money-saving, energy-efficient light bulbs to Entergy New Orleans customers – completely free of charge.
Entergy New Orleans recently gave a little lagniappe to local organizations that support education, environmental programs and poverty solutions.