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Insights > Backyard Work Presents Unique Challenges for Crews
Backyard Work Presents Unique Challenges for Crews
09/17/2020
For crews restoring power in southwest Louisiana following Hurricane Laura, backyard work presents unique challenges beyond keeping a barbecue grill hot or starting a lawn mower. In fact, many have exchanged the tongs for pole diggers while others have swapped the lawn mower for a mini derrick to transport materials and perform work in tight spaces.
Backyard work requires careful planning and generally takes longer to complete compared to work along an open, established roadway. Oftentimes, crews must perform more manual labor, like digging rather than drilling with a mechanical auger or climbing poles rather than using a bucket truck to reach equipment. They also may have to haul materials between houses with special equipment where a bucket truck cannot fit. All of this can make the job take longer; replacing a pole, for example, can take twice as long.
Even in situations where crews can reach damaged equipment with a bucket truck, most backyard work involves vegetation which requires the need to remove trees and limbs or fences to gain access. And in situations where a pole is being replaced, crews must wait until a survey is done to locate underground lines or pipes before digging.
“While these types of repairs are more difficult, it’s nothing we haven’t done before,” said John Hawkins, Entergy’s vice president of distribution operations in Louisiana. “This is just another obstacle for us to overcome in bringing power back to these communities. But rest assured we will get it done.”
Since restoration efforts began following Laura, crews have powered through Louisiana’s diverse geography to repair and rebuild the electric system. While work in backyards have presented challenges, so has working in woods and marsh.
To rebuild a portion of the transmission system in north Lake Charles, crews are navigating cranes and other equipment on pontoon boats in an area just west of the Calcasieu River. But rather than wait for the system that typically serves the area to be rebuilt, Entergy’s engineering and operations team found a creative solution to bring power into portions of north Lake Charles from the south by the end of this weekend. In addition, crews have made power available to nearly 90% of the essential customers in southwest Louisiana that can safely accept it, including most hospitals and water and waste treatment plants.
As of 7 p.m. Sept. 17, approximately 31,300 customer outages were occurring in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, down from a peak of approximately 93,000 outages in southwest Louisiana. To view a map that shows the estimated restoration time (for customers who can safely receive service) for your area, please visit https://www.entergy.com/hurricanelaura/.
Crews are making significant progress repairing and rebuilding an electric system that was severely damaged by Laura’s catastrophic winds. In the Lake Charles and Sulphur areas, crews have replaced approximately
- 10,300 distribution poles
- 3,000 distribution transformers
- 22,100 spans of distribution wire
- 460 transmission structures
- 210 miles of transmission line
Below is a breakdown of estimated restoration times by area:
- University – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20
- Airport – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 23.
- Choupique – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20. Due to impassable roads, a restoration time for Choupique Island is still to be determined.
- Iowa – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20.
- Goosport – A portion of the Goosport area will be restored by Sept. 20 and the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 23.
- Moss Bluff – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20.
- Cameron Parish and the City of Hackberry – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20.
- Jefferson Davis Parish – We estimate the majority of customers who can receive power will be restored by Sept. 20.
