Insights > Entergy Texas Restoration Evening Update - Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 @ 4 p.m.

Entergy Texas Restoration Evening Update - Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 @ 4 p.m.

By: Texas Editorial Team

08/31/2020

Hurricane Laura

TEXAS

Entergy Texas continues to make great progress restoring power since Hurricane Laura hit the shores of Texas and Louisiana. As of 4 p.m., Entergy Texas has 54,713 customers without power compared to the peak of 291,300 customers. This reflects that 236,587 customers have been restored since the peak of the storm.

Crews have been very successful in making repairs to our distribution system and services to individual households; however, crews continue to face significant obstacles to completing the restoration process as repairs are made to our transmission system, which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Laura.

The transmission system is the backbone of the electric grid and helps Entergy move power from the power plant to the lines serving customers’ neighborhoods. These large lines are like the interstate system. Without these lines in service, it makes it difficult to move power across the system to customers in the affected areas.

Our electric system is still in a very fragile state and we are taking steps to improve system conditions, but the damage to our transmission system is significant. Because of the damage, Entergy Texas is facing two conditions: 1) transmission lines need to be repaired in order to energize substations; 2) because of damaged transmission lines, Entergy Texas does not have the capability to move power into Texas; therefore creating capacity limitations which restricts the ability to turn on customers in the affected areas. Once the transmission lines are flowing electricity into the area, into the substations, then through the distribution lines, homes and businesses will be able to accept power. 

For customers in the Golden Triangle area, restoring power may take longer than expected as a result of damage to transmission lines serving your area.  As more generation and transmission services become available in Texas, this should help improve our ability to finalize our restoration efforts.

Customers remaining without power in Beaumont will be restored August 31, Port Arthur, Nederland and Port Neches by August 31, Groves September 1 and the Orange area is estimated by September 4.

Beaumont and Surrounding Areas

As of 4 p.m., there are 1,924 customers without power in the Beaumont area. 

Damage assessments are 100% complete and repairs are expected to be complete.

Servicemen continue working and making repairs throughout the city and in:

• South Beaumont – near Lamar University around Lavaca and Ector;
• Central Beaumont – Liberty-Laurel corridor area;
• North Beaumont – Minglewood neighborhood and surrounding areas;
• West Beaumont – near Major and College;

It is expected that Beaumont customers will be restored Monday, August 31.

Orange and Surrounding Areas

As of 4 p.m., 32,985 customers in the Orange and surrounding areas are without power. Total of 556 crews working in the Orange network.

The Entergy large voltage transmission system was severely damaged by the storm and is preventing our ability to energize customers. Several substations in Orange and surrounding areas cannot receive power until transmission lines are repaired. Transmission restoration continues to be a top priority as workers continue to repair all damage.

Workers continue to repair damage in impacted areas but are focused on repairing damaged equipment in the areas that will restore the most customers, including:

Orange Area:

• Cordary Substation (West of 16^th street) – Crews are working at the Country Club Subdivision, Sunset Dr, 23^rd Street, and International Apartment Complex/Subdivision. 
• (East side of 16^th street) – Crews are working at Brownwood and the Simmons Drive area.
• Front Street Substation – Crews are working Downtown Orange (Main Fire station & Police Station, Stark Foundation, Lamar Orange), the Cove.
• Orange Bulk Substation – Crews are working in Clairmont, Charlemont, Lindenwood, West Wood, Hillbrook, Baptist Hospital.
• West Orange Substation – Crews are working at West Orange School District, West Orange Cove High School area, and the town of West Orange.
• Echo Substation – Crews are working at Cypress Bayou, Knottingham, Kinerd Estates, the Chasse Ridge area subdivisions, Highway 87 North.

Mauriceville Area:

• McLewis Substation – Crews are working in Mauriceville Area/Greenwood Acres, Woodridge, Texla Road area, on Highway 62 North of I-10
• Winfrey Substation (Highway 62 and Highway 105) – Crews are working in Victory Gardens, Waterwood, Cypresswood neighborhoods,

Orangefield/Bridge City Area:

• Oilla/Winfrey Substation (Orangefield ISD schools, all subdivisions off of Highway 105 West around the High School) – Crews are working at Cajun Way Subdivision, Bessie Heights Subdivision, Duncan Woods Subdivision, Bridge Field Estates, Tyler Estates, Schofield Addition, The Cove
• Bridge City Substation – Crews are working at Highway 87, North Round Bunch Road, Bridgeview Estates 

Entergy Texas expects to restore most of its customers, who can safely take power by Friday, September 4.

Groves, Nederland, Port Arthur and Port Neches

As of 4 p.m., there are 18,942 customers without power in the area that includes Groves, Nederland, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Sabine Pass & Taylor Landing. This is down from the peak of 43,148 customers. Sunday evening workers restored power to approximately 1000 customers in the areas of Port Arthur, along Lewis Dr. between Jefferson and Memorial, Port Neches along Grigsby and in Nederland between Hwy 365 and Helena.

Scouts have completed the assessment of the area and have identified damaged equipment, that caused the outages. These assessments have identified 79 downed poles, 113 downed spans of wire, 14 damaged transformers and 137 broken crossarms.

Workers have been very successful in making repairs to the distribution system and services to individual households; however, crews continue to face significant obstacles to restore our transmission system which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Laura. Several substations in Groves, Nederland, Port Arthur and Port Neches cannot receive power until the transmission system is repaired. Transmission restoration continues to be a top priority as workers continue to repair all damage.

Workers are also repairing the localized line and substation damage, so that once transmission power is restored and these substations are energized, most customers will be restored. Workers continue to repair damage in all impacted areas, including:

Groves

• Areas between Hogaboom Rd, Pure Atlantic Hwy and Hwy 73

Nederland

• The northeast side of town along Twin City Hwy
• Between Hwy 366 and Hwy 365
• The Mid-County Shopping Center area

Port Arthur

• Along Hwy-73 between Jefferson Dr. and Main St.
• The Lakeview area
• Between Stillwell Blvd. and Houston Ave.
• Sabine Pass

Port Neches

• The west side of town between Nall St and Port Neches Ave
• Near the high school between Dallas St and Merriman
• Between Nall St and 8^th St.
• Between 1^st and 8^th Streets

Entergy Texas estimates that the majority of the area’s customers, who can safely take power, will be restored by Monday, August 31. Due to the transmission power damage, some Groves customers may not be restored until Tuesday, September 1.

Safety Tips

For the safety of our crews, please stay away from their work zones. If you need to report a problem with your service or get bill payment help, we’re just a phone call away: 1-800-ENTERGY.

For additional preparation tips and updates visit www.entergy.com/stormcenter

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, 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 or 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 home main electric panel. 
• Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.
• Avoid using candles or other flammable devices to warm your home. 
• 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.
   

Customer Information

• Customers who have a new advanced meter installed can check to see if their power is restored by logging into myEntergy. View ‘My Usage” on the dashboard. Select “hourly view” to see their most recent usage which is updated every four to five hours.
• Customers with property damage may require special action to speed their restoration:
  • If your property has any damage, please turn off the electricity at either the main 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.
• For customers without property damage:
  • Property owners without hurricane damage should 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.
• Entergy 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.
• As we repair damage, we concentrate first on critical services, then 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. In the case of fewer outages spread over larger areas, it often takes more time to get power back on for them.
• 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.

Information Resources

We want to keep you informed and in control so here is the best way to get information about outages in addition to the View Outage application:

• Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit entergystormcenter.com to stay informed on our restoration progress. Android users who have difficulty accessing the app on their smartphones can get information from the mobile version of our site at entergy.com.
• 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.
• Follow us on Twitter.com/EntergyTX or Facebook.com/EntergyTX.
• Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.

Tags

Texas  Storm Center  Hurricane Laura 

Texas Editorial Team