As Entergy crews and contractors narrow in on areas in North Louisiana that were hard hit by recent storms, crews further south in the Greater Baton Rouge area are just beginning to assess damage and restore power where it is safe to do so after the region was impacted by a strong storm that brought high winds and hail Saturday afternoon.
Entergy Louisiana crews are continuing to make progress restoring power to customers in North Louisiana after intense storms impacted the area early Friday. Of the 41,000 customers that were impacted at the peak, approximately 5,100 remain without power in the hardest-hit areas.
Entergy Louisiana crews are continuing to make progress restoring power to customers in North Louisiana after intense storms impacted the area early this morning. More than 75% of affected customers (or 30,700 of the 41,000 customers that were out at the peak) who can safely accept electric service have been restored.
A destructive line of storms with high winds swept across North Louisiana this morning, knocking out power to thousands of customers from Bossier to East Carrol and Madison parishes. In just a few hours, crews have been able to restore power to approximately 10,000 customers.
Spring symbolizes a new beginning, but when it comes to seasonal changes, the uncertainty of weather remains.
To support a local roadway project and add resilience to the electric system, crews installed eight concrete poles in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Workers dug holes, used a crane to set poles and installed new wire. The project took place near Entergy’s facility along Pecue Lane that serves as the company’s state command center during times of major events such as power restoration following a hurricane.
Entergy is taking steps to inform customers that utility bills are likely to be higher than normal this winter.
Local philanthropists Oliver G. “Rick” and Donna Richard have dedicated a downtown statue saluting the linemen and linewomen who came from all over the United States to restore electrical power after Hurricane Laura.
The last two hurricane seasons have shown that extreme weather events are impacting the Gulf Coast region more often and with more severity. And this means additional costs to repair and disruptions to our customers. In just the last few years, Entergy’s service area has been impacted by multiple, more frequent, and intense severe storms, including hurricanes Laura and Ida; two of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit Louisiana.
Louisiana residents have used a lot of power over the past couple of months, and that increased usage coupled with high natural gas prices used to produce electricity has impacted utility bills.