Insights > Entergy system Hurricane Beryl update – 7/10/24, 12:30 p.m.

Entergy system Hurricane Beryl update – 7/10/24, 12:30 p.m.

By: Corporate Editorial Team

07/10/2024

Entergy crews restoring power in Winnie, Texas

We’re completing our assessment of the damage Hurricane Beryl caused to our system. Crews are restoring power as safely and quickly as possible, however, assessment continues in some areas. We are on track to have 50% of customers restored by Wednesday and all customers restored by Sunday.

Our workforce will continue working safely to restore your power as quickly as possible. The storm disrupted electrical service for approximately 263,690 Entergy customers.

At 12:30 p.m., our restoration workers have restored approximately 45% of the electrical power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl.

Approximate current outages related to Hurricane Beryl as of 12:30 p.m.:

Hurricane Beryl impacted more than 40 transmission lines and 45 substations in the Entergy Texas system. Within 24 hours of the storm’s impact, eight of those transmission lines and eight substations have been returned to service. As of 9 p.m. July 9, distribution damage assessment has been completed for 56% of Entergy Texas customers and showed approximately 240 poles, 125 transformers and 1,295 spans of wire damaged or destroyed.

Occasionally we'll restore power to an area only to find another issue. This may require us to turn off the power again in order to complete additional repairs. We will also make initial repairs in some areas in order to get the power flowing to as many customers as possible. We then have to go back, take customers out of service, and complete more long-term repairs. Learn more about our restoration process.

We’ve reached a point in recovering from Hurricane Beryl that can be very frustrating for you. The storm has passed, yet power outages remain as we continue our restoration. We understand how difficult it is to wait for power so you can get your lives back to normal. We know you want your power restored and we have started the process.

In parallel to restoring power to critical services, crews are assessing damage. As damage assessments are completed, we’ll be able to put in place our restoration plan that will help us restore the greatest number of customers safely in the shortest amount of time. Assessment could take up to three days. While we are assessing damage, we will continue restoring service where it is safe to do so.

Our scouts are assessing damage to determine the exact cause of your outage and how long it will take to correct the problem. We use advanced technology such as infrared cameras, drones and satellite imagery to assess damage by foot, vehicles, airboats, high-water vehicles and helicopters. We'll be better prepared to give an estimated time to restore your power after the full assessment is completed.

Significant flooding and other accessibility challenges due to the storm will affect our ability to reach some areas of our territory and could delay damage assessment in those communities. Power is restored faster in areas with less damage. Restoration times in the hardest hit areas depend on the extent of damage to Entergy’s electrical facilities.

If you don’t see us working near you, keep in mind that we may be working on another part of the electrical system that you can’t see but is needed to get power to you.

Do not approach utility workers at a job site. Our work sites can be dangerous locations and interruptions will slow our workers’ progress.

It can be frustrating for you if you see trucks move away from an area before power is restored. Our work, however, has to take place in a certain order, determined by a restoration plan that takes into account how electricity flows to your neighborhood and prioritizes critical customers like hospitals. Trucks and workers will return to your area as soon as possible to complete the restoration work.

Our crews, contractors and mutual-assistance partners are working around the clock.

Our crews and contractors are prepared to work long hours to restore service to customers as safely and as quickly as possible. We continue acquiring more resources to restore service, with more than 1,100 additional personnel and specialized equipment being brought into the affected area to help restore service for customers whose power may be affected by Hurricane Beryl.

Our total restoration workforce is more than 2,100 strong, primarily in Texas.

We restore power as quickly as it is safe to do so.

We begin restoring power to customers as safely and quickly as possible after the storm passes, and the restoration process is done in an orderly, deliberate manner. This starts with assessing the damage and then repair power plants, transmission lines, substations and then the poles and wires in your neighborhood.

Right after the storm passes, and when it’s safe to do so, crews assess damage to electric equipment and facilities to determine what corrective actions and repairs are needed. And so we can deploy the right personnel with the right material to make repairs.

In harder to reach areas, we use advanced technology, such as infrared cameras, drones and satellite imagery to assess damage by foot, vehicles, airboats, high-water vehicles and helicopters.

Restoration where possible happens in parallel, for example, by initially closing circuit breakers and rerouting power. Line and vegetation crews may be the most visible part of the restoration, but many other employees behind the scenes provide the support needed to keep the restoration moving – from the start until the last light is on.

The order in which we bring back on customers is also deliberate. We start with essential services, move on to large neighborhoods and then to individual homes. Power is first restored to critical community infrastructure and essential services such as hospitals, water treatment plants, police and fire stations, and communication systems. Next, lines serving large areas of customers, then neighborhoods are restored. This returns power to the largest number of customers in the shortest amount of time. Some homes and businesses take longer, as individual customer homes or businesses with damage are often the most time-consuming repairs.

Make sure your home or business is ready for us to restore your power.

We 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). They must be repaired by a qualified electrician before Entergy can restore power.

Make sure your home or business is ready for us to restore your power. Check outside your home or business for damage to your electrical equipment. If the meter or any of the piping and wires on the outside wall of your home or business is missing or looks damaged, call an electrician to make repairs. If your home or business has been flooded, you will need to contact the city or county where you live or work for an electrical inspection before service can be restored.

If your property has any water damage, please turn off the electricity at either the main fuse box or circuit breaker. Don’t step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker. Call a licensed electrician for advice when necessary. A licensed electrician may need to inspect your property’s electric wiring before Entergy can restore power to a home or business which has water damage from rain or flood waters.

Even if you don’t have any property damage, you should still be cautious. Look for electrical system damage once power is restored. If you see sparks, broken or frayed wires or the smell of hot insulation is noticeable, turn off the electricity at either the main fuse box or circuit breaker. Call a licensed electrician for advice when necessary. Don’t step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker.

Stay informed

We provide restoration progress by text or phone call to customers who are signed up to receive notifications from us. It’s very important for customers to ensure their contact information is current so we you can receive our messages.

• Download our free app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app.
• Sign up ahead of a storm: myEntergy.com or by texting REG to 36778.
  • Customers should have their account number and ZIP code handy.
  • The registration pattern is as follows including spaces: REG (account number) (ZIP code).
  • Notifications will only be sent to the contact information supplied and selected by our customers.
• Visit our Storm Center, a one-stop website for information on storm safety, preparation, restoration and regular updates specific to the storm. You can also access the View Outages map from here.
• Storm-related updates are also shared on social media.
• Our View Outages map provides outage status and estimated restoration information to customers across the company’s service area.
  • The map offers several viewing options, including a street map, imagery and topographic, with the ability to overlay weather conditions.
  • Alert message boxes support the area view map with additional damage assessment and restoration information.
  • Red and green lines and icons indicate specific outages on the company’s distribution system and the number of customers affected. Generally speaking, green lines indicate that the line segment is energized, or power is flowing. Red lines indicate that that line segment is de-energized, or no power is flowing.
  • It’s important to note that while the main line may be energized (displaying as a green line), the map doesn’t show power flow all the way to the customer’s property. There could be damage or other issues between the energized line and the home such as transformers, down wires from the pole to the home, or damage with the meter or within the location itself.
  • During major storm events a large amount of activity is taking place in the field to restore power as safety and as quickly as possible. Workers in the field provide restoration information back to the office, and that information must be updated in the underlying systems that supply data to the outage map. Because these steps take time, and the environment is dynamic, the outage map at times during a major storm event may not reflect the most current outage and restoration information.
  • For more information on the View Outages map, visit entergy.com/viewoutages.
• Call us at 1-800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).
• Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.

Tags

Corporate  Arkansas  Texas  Storm Center  Hurricane Beryl 

Corporate Editorial Team