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Insights > Crews Find Solution to Restore Portions of North Lake Charles by End of the Weekend
Crews Find Solution to Restore Portions of North Lake Charles by End of the Weekend
09/15/2020
Faced with an extended restoration timeline, Entergy’s storm team developed a creative solution to accelerate the restoration of power to portions of north Lake Charles by the end of this weekend.
Continued progress in Calcasieu Parish opened the door for this opportunity as transmission and distribution groups energized additional substations in Lake Charles. Building upon these accomplishments, the storm team began rebuilding distribution lines to bring power in from the south. This, coupled with the installation of special equipment, will create a path for transporting electricity into the area.
While all nine transmission lines that serve the Lake Charles area were damaged during Hurricane Laura, the historic storm’s winds critically impaired the line that serves the northern portion of the area.
After assessing the damages, crews learned that many of the transmission structures in this area had to be replaced. Repairs to the transmission system are made more difficult because a large portion of the infrastructure is in wooded and marshy areas just west of the Calcasieu River. The work includes navigating cranes and other specialized equipment on pontoon boats.
The catastrophic damages and time-consuming repairs meant an extended restoration effort and weeks without power for customers in north Lake Charles. But rather than wait for crews to rebuild the transmission system in the area, Entergy’s operations and engineering teams developed a faster way to restore power to the area.
“After assessing the damages to our electric system following Hurricane Laura, we knew that bringing power back to north Lake Charles was going to be a challenge, but our team has stepped up and is finding creative ways to get it done,” said John Hawkins, Entergy’s vice president of distribution operations in Louisiana. “This has been a long road, but we’re going to continue to find solutions to accelerate recovery.”
While crews expect to restore power to many customers in north Lake Charles who can safely receive it by the end of the weekend, repairs to the existing transmission infrastructure in the area will be ongoing.
It is important to remember that Entergy cannot restore power to a location with a damaged meter base, conduit or weather head (the metal pipe extending upward from the structure with electrical cables inside). That equipment must be repaired by a qualified electrician before Entergy can restore power.
For additional information on what electric equipment is Entergy owned or customer owned, please visit https://www.entergy.com/hurricanelaura/home-repairs/.
