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Insights > Entergy Damage Assessments Expected to be Completed Today
Entergy Damage Assessments Expected to be Completed Today
10/30/2020
Entergy’s Louisiana storm team has restored power to about 154,000 customers as of 11 a.m. Friday. The team continues assessing and repairing damage after Hurricane Zeta tore through southeast Louisiana Wednesday.
The storm knocked out power to 481,000 customers, with 327,000 remaining without power Friday morning. Entergy crews expect to complete damage assessments today and provide estimated restoration times for customers this evening.
The Category 2 hurricane’s winds knocked down trees and power lines, blocking roads throughout the region. While damage assessments are still underway, as of Friday morning our storm team has identified damage to 1,142 poles, 194 transformers and 623 spans of wire.
We have secured a storm team of nearly 5,650 from 13 states to restore service. The company has brought in special equipment, including drones and airboats, to help workers assess damage more quickly.
Based on historical restoration times, customers in the direct path of a Category 2 hurricane can experience outages for up to 10 days, although 90% of customers will be restored sooner. We ask that our customers be patient with us as we work to repair portions of the electrical system.
Crews will continue to practice social distancing while in the field due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Entergy asks that customers do the same. For the safety of crews and customers, please stay away from work zones. If there is a need to report a service problem, customers should call 1-800-ENTERGY.
Stay Safe
The most dangerous part of a storm is often just after it has passed. There is no way to know if a downed line or piece of electrical equipment is energized or not, so if you see one, keep your distance and call 1-800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).
Customers choosing to use portable electric generators should do so safely and in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Customers must never connect a generator directly to a building’s wiring without a licensed electrician disconnecting the house wiring from Entergy’s service. Otherwise, it can create a safety hazard for the customer or our linemen working to restore power. And it may damage the generator or the house wiring.
Restoration workers who discover a generator attached directly to Entergy’s system will work with the customer to disconnect the generator. As a last resort, the restoration worker will disconnect the customer’s service connection to Entergy, which may take an extended time to reconnect due to the extensive restoration effort underway.
