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Insights > Entergy System Hurricane Delta Preparations Update – 10/9/20 @ 9 a.m.
Entergy System Hurricane Delta Preparations Update – 10/9/20 @ 9 a.m.
10/09/2020
Entergy’s utilities are prepared to mobilize a storm team of thousands of employees and contractors to respond to any impacts from Hurricane Delta. The companies will continue to monitor Delta and will adjust the location and size of the storm team based on the storm’s size, path and intensity. Ahead of Hurricane Delta making landfall, we’ll continue securing additional resources, but to date have confirmed the following:
- For Louisiana, approximately 6,500 workers
- For Mississippi, approximately 1,500 workers
- For Texas, approximately 730 workers
- For Arkansas, approximately 130 workers
We continuously learn and improve from storm experiences, including Hurricane Laura that devastated Southwest Louisiana after making landfall Aug. 27.
- We are ready to take appropriate action before, during and after severe weather.
- Based on previous storm responses and annual storm exercises, we are constantly updating and improving our operations related to storm damage restoration.
- Operation: Storm Ready is our internal process of continuous planning, preparation and training. And an early step, when facing a storm, is to prepare to bring in extra personnel to support the effort.
- We have worked to storm-harden our system. From aggressive preventive maintenance programs to using steel transmission structures near the coast, elevating substations that might flood and installing “isolation” devices on lines to reduce outages, our goal is always to restore power safely and quickly.
Customer Preparations
The time to be storm ready is now. Preparation for potential severe weather is vital for us and you, our highly valued customers.
- Above all, stay safe. A personal plan for you and your family is the best way to stay safe and be storm ready.
- Click here for planning tools that can help guide you through the decisions you need to make.
- Understand that your planning may be different this year because of the need to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
- Follow everyday preventive actions, including covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands often, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Consider taking extra precautions for people living in close quarters.
- Whether you shelter in place or evacuate, you should prepare to protect yourself and your home.
- Decide to stay or go well before the storm strikes. If you choose to stay, you should be prepared for the possibility of losing power.
- Basic emergency supplies and a first aid kit are key items to keep on-hand during severe weather.
Louisiana Hurricane Laura/Delta Update
Crews in the Lake Charles area have been tirelessly working to rebuild the transmission system in the area.
Entergy Louisiana has restored power to all accessible customers in Southwest Louisiana who can safely receive it after Hurricane Laura devastated the region and catapulted the company into its largest restoration effort. Customers with damage to their homes’ electrical equipment must make repairs before power can be restored.
With the progress made, Entergy Louisiana has been able to meet the demand as more customers are able to safely receive power.
The transmission team finalized preparations for Delta Thursday afternoon, securing equipment and facilities currently under construction and ensuring personnel safety.
Return to service dates for several lines that remain out have been adjusted due to Hurricane Delta.
Since Laura passed:
- Nearly 75% of the transmission structures damaged across Southwest Louisiana have been replaced.
- Crews have restored more than 400 miles of transmission lines.
Nearly all substations in Southwest Louisiana affected by Laura have been restored. Transmission has restored service to all substations serving Entergy Louisiana customers.
Transmission has restored six of the nine lines feeding the Lake Charles community, which were all catastrophically damaged, requiring nearly a complete rebuild. This includes a line carrying power between Lake Charles and Lafayette, adding to the redundancy of the system.
Texas Hurricane Laura/Delta Update
Since Hurricane Laura caused significant damage to the transmission system across Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas, Entergy crews have rebuilt most of the transmission system affected by Hurricane Laura.
As we prepare for Hurricane Delta, we feel confident that much of the redundancy eliminated by Laura has been rebuilt and we are ready to continue reliably serving customers across Texas. Not only have crews restored the system, they have rebuilt the system stronger than it was before Laura.
On the Texas side, crews have taken several steps to rebuild the transmission system and add additional redundancy to reliably serve customers.
- First, we have returned eight of the nine transmission lines that tie Entergy Texas to the broader electric system.
- Additionally, crews have replaced a major piece of equipment at a substation at the Hartburg substation, which unlocks additional generation to serve Texas customers and also improves the ability to move power across the region.
- Finally, while several power plants went offline during Hurricane Laura to safely ride out the storm, these plants are operating today and will continue to operate during Hurricane Delta to provide power to the Entergy Texas region.
Stay Informed
When restoration begins, customers may experience delays when calling our telephone centers, especially from unaffected areas, due to overloading of the system with outage calls. We encourage customers to use these other means to interact with us during restoration:
- Download our free app for your smartphone.
- Sign up for text alerts by texting REG to 36778 and have your account number and ZIP code handy. The registration pattern is as follows including spaces: REG (account number) (ZIP code). Once registered, text OUT to 36778 to report an outage. You can also report an outage online as a guest.
- Visit our View Outages page.
- Follow us on Twitter.com/entergy or Facebook.com/entergy.
- Call us at 1-800-9OUTAGE (1-800-968-8243).
- Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.
Unfortunately, attempts to scam customers appeared after Hurricane Laura. We caution customers to be aware of unscrupulous attempts to swindle our customers during Hurricane Delta recovery.
- Entergy never demands immediate payment from customers over the phone. You shouldn't give your personal information to strangers.
- If a call sounds suspicious, hang-up and call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative.
- If you believe you are a victim of this scam, notify the proper authorities, such as the local police or the state attorney general's office.
Customer Safety
You should stay safe as we restore service outages caused by Hurricane Delta.
- There is no way to know if a downed line is energized or not, so if you see one, keep your distance and call 1-800-9OUTAGE (1-800-968-8243).
- Stay safe and away from downed power lines and flooded areas. Do not walk in standing water and do not venture into areas of debris, since energized and dangerous power lines may not be visible.
- Customers choosing to use portable generators should do so 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.
- Position generators outdoors and well away from any structure. Running a generator inside any enclosed or partially enclosed structure can lead to dangerous and often fatal levels of carbon monoxide. Make sure a generator has 3 to 4 feet of clear space on all sides and above it to ensure adequate ventilation. Keep generators positioned outside and away from doors, windows and vents so exhaust does not enter your home/business or a neighboring home/business.
Responding to a major storm and COVID-19 could affect our response:
- Along with standard storm preparations, Entergy employees are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic by taking additional steps. These include traveling separately when possible, adjusting crew staging locations and increasing the use of drones.
- Due to the additional measures crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. Additionally, crews will continue to practice social distancing and we ask that customers do the same. For their safety and yours, please stay away from work zones.
Restoration Process
Here’s how we approach things at this stage to restore your power safely and quickly when conditions are safe:
- Essential services such as hospitals, nursing homes, fire and police departments, and water systems are at the head of the restoration list, along with our equipment that supplies electricity to large numbers of customers.
- Then we will concentrate our resources on getting the greatest number of customers back the fastest.
- We can’t use our bucket trucks until sustained winds are less than 30 mph, but we can still begin restoring service to customers by closing circuit breakers, rerouting power and other actions.
- You may see trucks, other vehicles and workers lined up while we process them into our system, taking inventory of equipment and personnel and giving a complete safety orientation.
- Repairs begin with major lines to the substations, then to the lines and equipment serving neighborhoods, businesses and homes.
- Service lines to individual homes and businesses will be restored last because fewer customers are involved, and in the case of fewer outages spread over larger areas, it often takes more time to get power back on for them.
- Significant flooding and other accessibility challenges due to the storm will affect our ability to reach some areas of our territory and could delay restoration in those communities.
- When restoration starts, keep in mind that if you don’t see us working near you, we may be working on another part of the electrical system that you can’t see but must be repaired to get power to you.
Following a storm, we deploy scouts to assess damage. It may take up to three days before we know how long until power is restored.
As safety is always the highest of priorities, and as we assess the damage, we’ll begin restoring service where it is deemed safe to do so.
Our employees are our greatest assets; we will keep our workers safe during a storm response.
- Keeping our workers safe from worsening weather conditions may limit our ability to restore service as quickly as we’d all like.
- We are committed to keeping our employees safe and sheltered during dangerous periods caused by high winds, flooding and other severe storm conditions.
- For strong hurricanes, we evacuate from the predicted landfall area, but quickly return as soon as conditions are safe to begin restoration.
Along with standard storm preparations, Entergy employees are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic by taking additional steps. These include traveling separately when possible, adjusting crew staging locations and increasing the use of drones.
Due to the additional measures crews must take, restoration may take longer, especially where there are widespread outages. Additionally, crews will continue to practice social distancing and we ask that customers do the same. For their safety and yours, please stay away from work zones.
Facing severe weather can be extremely challenging; we’re committed to minimizing the effects of a bad storm.
- Weather forecasts and computer models based on knowledge from past storms are used to predict the estimated number of customers without power and the number of days needed to restore power.
- Power is restored faster in areas with less damage. Some of the hardest-hit areas may take longer, which should be factored into your personal storm plan. Remember, safety first.
- Once the storm passes, we can fully assess the damage and will have more information to share.
Restoration
Based on historical restoration times, customers in the direct path of a Category 2 hurricane can experience outages of up to 10 days. While 90% of customers will be restored sooner, customers should plan for the possibility of being in the hardest-hit area.
For areas experiencing impacts equivalent to that of a Category 1, customers should prepare to be without power out for up to 7 days. Every storm is unique, and once the storm passes, we will keep customer informed regarding restoration efforts.
