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Insights > Entergy Arkansas Winter Storm Update – 2/3/22, 6 p.m.
Entergy Arkansas Winter Storm Update – 2/3/22, 6 p.m.
02/03/2022
A winter storm impacted the state producing widespread damage, causing 15,291 customer outages at peak on Thursday morning February 3, 2022. As of 6 p.m., 44% of customers impacted from the storm have been restored today. The highest precipitation of snow and sleet has been across the northern and western areas, ice impacted the eastern areas of the state. Entergy Arkansas continues to monitor the weather as this type of precipitation can create problems for an electric system, making for hazardous or treacherous driving conditions, slowing restoration. We have the people, crews and resources available to restore outages quickly and safely, while practicing social distancing measures needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the additional safety measures our crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. Restoration times are being made available as damages are determined and road conditions improve in the most impacted areas. For additional inclement weather tips and storm updates visit www.entergy.com/stormcenter.
Southeast Arkansas
Arkansas County
As of 3:00 p.m. February 3, approximately 1,808 customers are without power in Stuttgart and surrounding areas. We have several crews working to restore power and will continue to work into the evening hours to restore power to all customers who can receive power. We will continue the assessment and restoration process as soon as it is safe for us to resume work Friday morning.
Phillips County
As of 3:00 p.m. February 3, approximately 3,027 customers are without power in Helena and surrounding areas. We have several crews working to restore power and will continue to work into the evening hours to restore power to all customers who can receive power. We will continue the assessment and restoration process as soon as it is safe for us to resume work Friday morning.
Jefferson County
As of 3:30 p.m. February 3, 2022, approximately 364 customers in the Pine Bluff area remain without power. Entergy crews are working to replace wire that is down in various locations, replace broken poles and damaged equipment. We expect to have most customers restored by 10:00 p.m. tonight.
Northeast Arkansas
Poinsett County
As of 4:00 p.m. February 3, all Entergy customers in Harrisburg and Trumann are without power, 3,867 customers in total.
HARRISBURG: About 1 p.m. yesterday equipment in the substation that serves Harrisburg failed. Sometimes components fail without warning, and we respond as quickly as possible to repair or replace equipment. This was unrelated to the winter storm. With the storm came the galloping lines, which complicated power restoration. The primary problem was the failed component in the substation, it has been repaired and re-reenergized restoring customers service at 5:50 p.m. this afternoon.
TRUMANN: The substation that serves Trumann had a high-voltage transformer fail at 12:21 a.m. today. This was caused by galloping lines coming into contact with one another. Galloping lines continue to be a problem, but it is possible that the voltage irregularities caused by the galloping lines damaged the substation transformer. We are conducting tests on the transformer now. If tests indicated it can be re-energized, we will do so, probably late this afternoon. If the transformer is inoperable, it will be necessary to bring in a mobile transformer, and that will take longer. We’ll provide an estimate of how long that will take if the mobile transformer becomes necessary.
We understand that it’s very cold, and everyone would like to have their electricity back on. Please be assured we working to get all service restored as quickly as we safely can.
STORM RESTORATION PROCESS
As the winter storm impacts Arkansas, we will deploy scouts to assess damage. Our scouts will work as quickly and safely as possible, in sometimes very dangerous conditions, as the storm moves across our service area. As damages are being assessed, we will communicate with you the conditions found along with an estimated restoration time and our progress toward restoring your power. While our scouts gather more information on damages, our crews will simultaneously be restoring service where it is deemed safe to do so. We ask for your patience, and please know restoring your power safely and quickly is our top priority.
Additionally, please be aware the restoration process can be hampered by the large demand of instantaneous electrical demand from appliances (heating units, water heaters, etc.) when service is restored to your service, potentially overloading Entergy protective devices on the electrical system. To help mitigate this problem, Entergy encourages you to turn off any electrical heaters or electrical appliances that can easily be turned off or disconnected until power is restored.
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.
- 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.
