Insights > Entergy winter storm restoration update – 12/24/22, noon

Entergy winter storm restoration update – 12/24/22, noon

By: Corporate Editorial Team

12/24/2022

Entergy crews continue to restore power to customers impacted by extreme cold temperatures. Record and near-record low temperatures brought sustained hard freezes across our four-state Entergy service area. Restoration is well underway, while continued damage assessments continue in areas impacted the most.

The extreme winter weather disrupted electrical service for approximately 54,000 Entergy customers at its height yesterday. As of 11:15 a.m., we have restored power to nearly 94% of our customers. Our crews will continue safely working until everyone’s power is restored.

Storm preparations are performed 365 days/year.

Entergy continually reviews its data and processes and has identified ways to be more prepared for prolonged freezes. Read more on our winter preparedness here.

Cold weather restoration is handled differently.

We use a methodical and calculated process in bringing customers back online after an outage in very cold weather, regardless of whether the initial cause of the outage was specifically weather-related.

• Rather than simply energizing an entire power line all at once, we must bring customers back online one section at a time to avoid damage to the system and making the situation worse.
• During cold temperature extremes, customers tend to use a lot of electricity to keep heating or other devices running. Electric heaters often will run continuously, creating a constant power demand.
• When power is disrupted during winter, many customers leave their heating systems and appliances turned on, creating too much energy demand all at once when service is restored.
• We have devices that protect our system during times of normal, day-to-day operations and power demand. During weather extremes, we must change our processes to protect our system and restore power in a way that best ensures safety and reliability for our customers.
• Restoring all customers on the same power line simultaneously can create large, instantaneous power demands. The instant demand could be higher than the built-in protective devices on a line were designed to handle.
• During this extreme cold weather conditions, these specific restoration challenges are experienced not just by Entergy, but throughout the industry and the country.
• Customers without power can help by turning off major appliances but leaving on a lamp or other light to indicate when power is restored. Then, gradually turn other appliances on to spread out the increase in power usage over a longer time.

Customers should report their outages.

• Customers may download our app for iPhone or Android and use it to report an outage or check if power is restored on their street. To download the free app, access your app store or visit: entergy.com/app.
• You can also sign up to receive our notifications and enable two-way texting. Once registered (instructions above), text OUT to 36778 to report an outage or STAT for the status of your power outage.
• Customers can report an outage on our website, by visiting the myEntergy You can first log into your online account or submit as a guest.
• Customers may experience delays when calling our telephone centers when severe weather strikes. We encourage them to use the other quick and easy options available to report an outage, but they may call us at 1-800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).

Several online resources are available to help you stay safe during severe winter weather.

• Hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature) and frostbite are both dangerous conditions that can happen when a person is exposed to extremely cold temperatures. More information on recognizing and preventing these conditions is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Protect yourself and your loved ones during a winter storm, especially safely heating and lighting your home, operating a generator safely, and ensuring the warmth of babies and older adults.
• Protect your home and car during a winter storm.
• How to survive a power outage in winter – information from AccuWeather.com on how to stay warm and reduce risk.
• Information from Ready.gov – dangers of winter weather, what to do if under a winter storm warning and how to stay safe when a winter storm threatens.

Tags

Arkansas  Louisiana  Mississippi  New Orleans  Texas  Storm Center  Winter  Winter Weather 

Corporate Editorial Team