Insights > Entergy Louisiana Hurricane Francine update – 9/13/24, 10 a.m.

Entergy Louisiana Hurricane Francine update – 9/13/24, 10 a.m.

By: Louisiana Editorial Team

09/13/2024

Entergy Louisiana’s storm team has made significant progress in safely restoring power after Hurricane Francine. In less than 48 hours, electric service has been restored to around 65% of the 300,000 customers who lost power and can safely receive it.

As of 10 a.m., approximately 104,000 customers remain without power across southeast Louisiana, with the coastal communities of Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption and Ascension parishes that saw the strongest winds being particularly hard hit.

The combined storm team for Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Louisiana has grown to more than 8,100 workers, including scouts, lineworkers, tree trimmers and support personnel. They are working simultaneously to assess damage and restore power where it is safe to do so.

Damage assessments are underway and expected to be completed by the end of day tomorrow in the hardest-hit areas farther south where access is more challenging. As of this morning, teams have identified 258 damaged or broken poles, 474 spans of wire (a span being the length of power line between poles) and 63 transformers. Those numbers are anticipated to increase as more assessments are completed in the hardest-hit regions that were in Hurricane Francine’s direct path. 

While the geography of southeast Louisiana presents challenges for utilities, crews are using every available tool to make repairs and restore power. Distribution poles are often located in marshes, swamps, rivers, heavily wooded areas, and other hard-to-reach places. To overcome these obstacles, crews are using helicopters and drones to identify damage, airboats and marsh buggies to navigate waterways and rear-alley machines to access tight spaces in residential areas.

At the transmission level, crews have also made progress, with 70% of affected transmission line sections back in service. On Friday, a Black Hawk helicopter equipped with a grapple hook was deployed to remove trees from transmission lines near Sorrento in Ascension Parish. Today, it will be used for similar work in Napoleonville. Crews are also focused on restoring two substations, one in Gonzales and another in lower Terrebonne Parish, as well as six transmission line segments.

Estimated restoration times

While many customers will have power restored sooner, Entergy Louisiana expects to have most of its customers who can safely receive service restored by Sunday night. Entergy New Orleans expects to have most of its customers restored by tomorrow night.

Estimated restoration times will depend on the severity of the damage in each area. This is reflected in the parish-by-parish breakdown below. Coastal areas, including Assumption, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes, experienced some of the strongest winds, and restoration in these communities will take longer.

Here’s how you can stay up to date on our restoration efforts: 

• Download the Entergy app. Customers can use the app to report outages or check on the status of power at their home or business.
• Check Entergy’s View Outages Maps show where outages are located and give information about restoration progress.
• Follow us Facebook and X at @EntergyLA, @EntergyNOLA, facebook.com/EntergyLA and facebook.com/EntergyNOLA. Social media also plays an important role in keeping you informed, and we place a high priority on updating our social media channels throughout an event. 
• Text us: If you are signed up to receive our notifications, you can text OUT to 36778 to report an outage. To sign up for text messaging, go to myEntergy.com or by texting REG to 36778. Have your account number and ZIP code handy. The registration pattern is as follows including spaces: REG (account number) (ZIP code). 
• Visit the Entergy Storm Center The site has storm safety, preparation and restoration information that is updated throughout the day.
• Download the Operation: Storm Ready Guide. This guide will help you plan and prepare for weather emergencies. Information is also available in Spanish and Vietnamese.

Tags

Louisiana  Storm Center  Hurricane Francine 

Louisiana Editorial Team