Residents and businesses of the City of Abbeville and the Town of Erath are now being served by a stronger, more resilient electric system after Entergy Louisiana completed a $15 million upgrade to a section of transmission lines in Acadiana.

On Aug. 29, 2021, 16 years to the day Hurricane Katrina forever changed the landscape of Greater New Orleans, Hurricane Ida followed in its devastating footsteps and, once again, challenged the resolve of the communities that call this area home. As part of the destruction wrought by the Category 4 storm that was Ida, Entergy Corp.’s Avondale-to-Harahan 230-kV river-crossing circuit was irreparably damaged. After the storm passed and damages were assessed, the utility discovered one of the existing river-crossing towers on the ground and the conductor in the Mississippi River, attached to the other still-standing tower.

Entergy Mississippi has purchased the former Primos facility and 10 acres, and some 25 adjacent acres in the Flora Industrial Park, and will relocate 44 employees to the site once the property is in service next year.

It’s a fact of electric utility life that sometimes animals cause power outages. Usually, it’s squirrels. But this week it’s birds. Egrets, herons, cormorants and sometimes turkey vultures, as far as we can tell. And may we suggest you finish your breakfast before reading the explanation.