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Insights > Entergy Arkansas winter storm update – 2/25/22, 9 a.m.
Entergy Arkansas winter storm update – 2/25/22, 9 a.m.
02/25/2022
The line of severe winter weather that brought freezing rain and ice accumulations exited the state last night, and power restoration continues. The winter storms over the past two days produced widespread damage, causing more than approximately 30,087 customer outages at peak. As of 9 a.m., statewide outages have been reduced to approximately 19,857 customers.
We have assembled and engaged 2,100 restoration workers. We are responding to outages as quickly and safely as possible. The Pine Bluff, Helena and Russellville areas are expected to be restored by the end of the day, with the heaviest affected areas restored by noon Sunday. Estimated restoration times for all other affected customers are not yet available, although updates will be provided via the Outage Map as soon as crews can make those determinations. It is estimated that some outages in the hardest-hit areas may take a couple days to restore. We ask for your patience, and please know that safely restoring your power is our top priority.
Although Entergy Arkansas manages growth of trees and bushes near electrical equipment, one half-inch of ice can increase the weight of a tree limb as much as 30 times, causing even smaller limbs to bend, and as the ice accumulation melts into the afternoon some limbs may spring back onto power lines and causing an outage.
Northwest Arkansas
Pope County
As of 9 a.m., we have approximately 1,755 customers without power in Pope County. In the Atkins general area, we are still working to assess damage beyond the intersection of Hopewell Road and Arkansas Highway 247. Within the Hector/Moreland/Appleton area, we are sending crews to assess damage around Buttermilk Road and Griffin Flat Road areas. We are assessing damage on Linker Mountain and Bayou Ridge Loop as of 8 a.m. We still have several areas in Hector to assess including Gunter Mountain, Canady Flat, Rock Hollow and White Oak Mountain roads. The Russellville area also has several single case outages that will have to be assessed. In all areas, we have only been able to safely assess approximately 40% of the outages due to falling trees and falling tree limb hazards. We anticipate 100% damage assessment completed by 5 p.m. We have added 10 additional personnel for damage assessment and 25 additional personnel for tree trimming. We have added 30 additional line crews. We have brought in four additional off-road equipment to address areas that have no truck accessibility.
Northeast Arkansas
Cross County
As of 9 a.m., approximately 1,546 customers remain without power. Damage assessment is underway, and multiple broken poles have been identified. Scouting efforts will continue throughout the day to assess damage in the affected areas. We will have several contract crews in the areas working alongside Entergy personnel. Damage assessments from last night were 30% completed and counted included 29 broken poles, 38 spans of downed wire, three transformers and several other items of damaged equipment needing repair. Today we will continue to target all areas affected to restore service to those remaining customers that can safely take power.
Mississippi County
Bassett, Joiner, and Wilson
As of 9 a.m., approximately 1,059 customers remain without power. Scouting efforts will continue throughout the day to assess damage in the affected areas. We will have several contract crews in the areas working alongside Entergy personnel. Damage assessments from last night were 85% completed and counted 29 broken poles, 59 spans of downed wire and 22 other items of damaged equipment needing repair. Today we will continue to target all areas affected to restore service to those remaining customers that can safely take power.
Monroe County
Brinkley and Cotton Plant
As of 9 a.m., approximately 853 customers remain without power. Scouting efforts will continue throughout the day to assess damage in the affected areas. We will have several contract crews in the areas working alongside Entergy personnel. Damage assessments from last night were 30% completed and counted 29 broken poles, 38 spans of downed wire, three transformers and several items of damaged equipment needing repair. Today we will continue to target all areas affected to restore service to those remaining customers that can safely take power.
Poinsett County
Marked Tree, Tyronza, and Lepanto
The extreme winter weather event over the last two days caused more than 700 customer outages in Poinsett County. As of 9 a.m., approximately 683 remain without power. Damage assessment is underway and multiple broken poles have been identified. Additional damage assessment workers are in the area this morning, and the damage assessments are underway. Restoration efforts are focused on addressing potentially unsafe situations and restoring power to public health and safety facilities, which include hospitals, law enforcement and water pumping stations. Once public health and safety facilities have been restored, our focus will shift to major power lines and equipment that will restore power to the largest numbers of customers in the shortest time possible. Our work plan for Friday morning includes restoring power to the Newsome Road area in Marked Tree, the Lepanto area outages, and areas east of the First Baptist Church in Tyronza.
St. Francis County
As of 9 a.m., approximately 4,272 customers remain without power. Scouting efforts will continue throughout the day to assess damage in the affected areas. We will have several contract crews in the areas working alongside Entergy personnel. Damage assessments from last night were 30% completed and counted 29 broken poles, 38 spans of downed wire, three transformers and several other items of damaged equipment needing repair. Today we will continue to target all areas affected to restore service to those remaining customers that can safely take power.
White County
Searcy and Bald Knob
Over the last two days, we experienced increased outages in White County area. Crews continue to work through hazardous weather conditions to restore power as soon as possible. As of 9 a.m., approximately 1,245 customers remain without power. Crews are concentrating efforts primarily in the Bald Knob and Searcy areas and will be working into the evening to safely restore power.
East & Southeast Arkansas
Arkansas County Area
Lonoke, Carlisle, Hazen, and England
The winter weather storm that came through the area Feb. 24 caused extensive damage and a numerous amount of outages. As of 9 a.m., approximately 2,356 customers remain without power across the locations listed above. With about 40% of the area damage assessments scouted, we have found 29 poles down and 86 spans of wire down. A span of wire is the wire between that spans two utility poles. Additional crews will continue assessing this morning. With the extent of the damage, restoration efforts may take longer than normal, but crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to get power restored to all remaining customers that can safely take power.
Crittenden County
Marion
The winter weather storm that came through the Marion service area today left over 8,000 customers without power at its peak. As of 9 a.m., 4,313 customers remain without power. Damage assessments have begun, and multiple poles and spans of wire have been damaged due to the storm. We plan to work today targeting all areas affected to restore service to those remaining customers that can safely take power.
Jefferson & Grant County
Pine Bluff, Sheridan, and Redfield
As of 9 a.m., approximately 505 customers remain without power in the county areas. Crews will be working in the areas of West Clearwater Drive, Woodson Lateral Road and Grant County Road 58 in Sheridan, Beaver Trail Road in Redfield and various areas of Pine Bluff, Jefferson and White Hall. Damage assessments are incomplete but ongoing. We have confirmed wire down in many locations, broken poles, vegetation to be cleared and limited truck access in some areas. We expect to have most customers who can take power restored by 10 p.m. tonight, with some customers carrying over into tomorrow.
For additional inclement weather tips and storm updates, visit entergy.com/stormcenter.
As with any weather event, please be mindful of the following safety tips:
- Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines. Call 1-800-9OUTAGE or 1-800-968-8243 to report downed or dangling power lines, damaged or downed poles or other damaged equipment.
- Do not trim trees or remove debris on or near downed power lines. Only power company crews or their contractors should remove trees or limbs touching power lines. Again, stay away from downed power lines.
- Keep away from the immediate areas where crews are working. There is always the danger of moving equipment and the possibility of construction materials, limbs or overhead wires falling to the ground.
- If you plan on using a generator for temporary power, get a licensed electrician and disconnect from the utility electric system before hooking up to your main electric panel.
- Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation. Use them only outdoors, following all manufacturers’ safety guidelines.
- Turn off any electrical appliances that can easily be turned to the off position until power is restored.
- Check on seniors, who can be particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures.
- Try to stay off the roads in affected areas. More traffic in bad weather leads to more accidents, including more injuries and fatalities as well as accidents that can damage electrical poles and other equipment, creating outages and impeding the ability of crews to access and repair damage and slowing restoration.
We want to keep you informed and in control. The best way to get information about outages is via Entergy’s View Outage page on our website. Additional resources for your convenience:
- Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit Entergy Storm Center to stay informed on our restoration progress.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cell phone, text R E G to 368374, or visit entergytext.com.
- Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter @EntergyARK.
- Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.
