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Insights > Texas Restoration Update: 9/1/17, 5 p.m.
Texas Restoration Update: 9/1/17, 5 p.m.
09/01/2017
Flooding is significantly impacting Entergy's ability to restore power to customers in some areas, and flooding is expected to continue for several days. Several substations which distribute electric service to many customers, over large areas are experiencing outages due to flooding. Restoration of these locations is also being hampered as workers are unable to access these areas. Entergy workers will assess damage and begin restoration when flood waters recede and it is safe to do so.
At 5:00 pm 57,683 Entergy Texas customers were without power. Currently there are approximately 6,000 customers that are without power and are unable to be restored at this time due to high water. Entergy has restored 218,000 outages since Harvey began impacting our area on Friday. Our workers continue to safely restore power as quickly as possible.
There are currently transmission line outages across the Entergy Texas service territory as well as 13 substations that are under water, which is causing outages for several thousand customers. The areas most impacted by these outages are Orange County, Hardin County and Huntsville in the Groveton and Corrigan areas. Workers are repairing the damaged equipment and restoring these lines, which will restore power to large sections of customers.
East Region
Jefferson County
Beaumont
There are currently 8,758 customers without power in Beaumont and the surrounding areas, down from a high of 15,100 Tuesday morning. About half of the customers without power are currently inaccessible due to flooding. Although still hindered by water, workers have been able to assess damages in most areas and are restoring customers. As of today, 90 percent of damage assessments are complete.
Bevil Oaks substation damage assessments are taking place today and Amelia substation is now accessible so workers can begin making repairs. North Major Drive to Highway 105, as well as the Amelia areas is serviced by this substation, which has been out of service due to flood waters.
The broken pole and equipment at 16th Street have been repaired and workers are restoring on Washington Blvd. this afternoon. Approximately 304 customers in the Prairie and Avenue F area will be restored today, once pole repairs are complete. Progress is being made with the pole replacements and damaged equipment along the College Street and Lindbergh areas.
South County areas of Fannett and La Belle as well as Bevil Oaks, Pinewood, Countrywood and Northwest Forest continue to remain inaccessible due to flooding.
Port Arthur, Mid-County
There are currently 2,520 customers without power in the Port Arthur and Mid-County areas. This is down from a total of 6,321, which were out yesterday and a peak of over 6,800. More than half of the remaining outages are inaccessible due to flooding which continues to prevent workers from restoring power. This includes all or portions of the areas of Sabine Pass, Parkway Village, Stonegate, Lake Arthur, the Windsor II/Saba Lane section of Port Neches and the Golf Course area along Jimmy Johnson Blvd.
Work was completed today on outages in downtown Port Arthur which restored power to nearly 400 customers. Work was also completed in the Foster Heights section of Groves and in the Twin City Hwy and Monroe St. area which restored power to 147 customers.
Entergy workers continue to work smaller isolated outages in areas that are not flooded throughout the Port Arthur, Groves, Nederland, Port Neches and Port Acres. Along with the normal workforce, additional workers are in place and are assisting in the restoration efforts. Scouts have assessed over 80 percent of the area that is not currently blocked by flood waters.
In areas that are not currently accessible, workers will evaluate the damage and begin restorations the flood waters recede and it is safe to do so. Several airboats fitted with specialized construction equipment have arrived and more are being deployed to restore power to areas that are not reachable by truck.
Liberty County
Dayton, Liberty
There are currently 975 customers without power in the Dayton area. Approximately 197 of these outages are inaccessible due to flooding. There are 778 customers in the south Liberty area off of Hwy 563 from Hankamer to Liberty which are affected due to a substation that has been knocked out of service from rising flood waters.
The 211 customers in Ames that lost power on MLK Street have been restored.
Hwy 1409 and the Day Lake Rd Subdivision are flooded and inaccessible. Hwy 90 between Liberty and Dayton has been shut down due to flooding and there is no access to the areas on the other side of the Trinity River. The underground portion of the Lockshire subdivision with 95 customers remains without power due to flooding. There are three areas in Daisetta that are inaccessible due to high water including CR 2017, CR 2011 and CR 185.
Workers continue to assess the Hwy 563 area utilizing boats and high water vehicles repairing as much damage as is possible today. Most of the customers in this area will not be able to receive power until the substation has been restored – Entergy plans to conduct a walk down of the flooded areas to perform a complete assessment in preparation for the restoration process.
The walk down of the Lochshire subdivision is near to completion and crews will begin restoring service to those customers who can safely receive power this evening. There are workers in Batson replacing poles and others are performing restoration in the Hardin Batson Saratoga area. Workers will also be assessing other known flooded areas and restoring power where they are able to safely do so.
Cleveland
There are currently 190 customers without power in the Cleveland area. Customers in the area near Highway 1725 have been fully restored. A small number of customers are without power on County Road 3706A and should be restored today. Restoration has been impeded by high water in the area around Plum Grove on County Road 352. It is expected that all customers that are not impeded by flood waters and that can safely take power should be restored by today.
Orange County
Orange, Vidor, Bridge City
There are approximately 27,092 customers without power in the Orange County area. There are now a total of 167 workers in the field in Orange, Vidor and surrounding areas. Damage in these areas includes broken poles, damaged transformers, power lines down, damaged transmission lines and trees on power lines.
Three substations remain out due to transmission lines being damaged. Some areas impacted by the substation outages include downtown, Old Town, Lamar and Front Street, 16th Street, as well as Little Cypress, Bridge City, West Orange, Mauriceville, McLewis and Winfree. Large sections of customers will be restored as power returns to these substations.
Water is receding in the Cove area and crews are now repairing downed poles, lines and broken equipment to restore power. Additional workers will be scouting for areas where water has receded and it is safe to restore power.
In the Vidor area, approximately 85 percent of customers are now without power since last night after losing most of the transmission power lines serving the substations. Additional flooding has increased flood water depth from two feet to six feet of water. Significant progress was made assessing damage yesterday and workers are performing aerial inspections of transmission lines in the Vidor area to identify areas requiring repairs. In Orange flooded and inaccessible areas are being scouted by helicopter and boat.
Hardin County, Tyler County
Silsbee, Woodville, Lumberton
Currently there are 14,165 customers without power in Silsbee, Woodville and the surrounding areas. A transmission power line went down overnight resulting in outages of six substations. New transmission equipment is being installed. This should restore power to 7,000 customers in the Woodville area and 4,000 customers in the Silsbee area.
Chambers County
Winnie, Anahuac
There are currently 290 customers without power in the Winnie area. Workers are making progress restoring power in the areas of Anahuac and Winnie off 365. Workers are also working on FM 1410, Crystal Beach and High Island areas. Air patrol damage assessments are taking place over the Big Hill, Smith Point, Oak Island, and Hamshire areas.
West Region
Montgomery County
Conroe
All storm-related outages in Conroe have been restored and workers are responding to smaller outages as they occur.
New Caney
There are 84 customers currently without power in the New Caney area. Roman Forrest is 95 percent restored with the remaining 5 percent still inaccessible due to high water conditions. The Sorters subdivision is 90 percent restored and Kings Colony is 95 percent restored. Workers will continue working to repair damages in those areas today. The FM1485 east area is 95 percent restored with 5 percent still inaccessible due to high water conditions. Workers will continue to reassess the isolated areas which were previously inaccessible due to high water. All customers that are not impeded by flood waters and that can safely take power should be restored by today.
The Woodlands
There are 29 customers without power in The Woodlands and South Montgomery County areas. Workers were able to set a new pole for the few commercial customer outages in South Conroe at I-45 and the San Jacinto River and these customers should have power today. The remaining outages in The Woodlands area are primarily due to equipment which was damaged by water or is still submerged from the flood. While water on one street may have receded, the equipment that is causing the outage remains inaccessible, so workers are unable to make necessary repairs.
Additional post storm power loss has occurred in a few areas; some of these outages are taking place after the water recedes, but creating the same issue of connected equipment still being inaccessible. Crews continue to work these outages alongside storm restoration and are making repairs without excessive time delays. Some customers were flooded and will remain without power until customer side equipment is inspected. All customers that are not impeded by flood waters and can safely take power should be restored by today.
Walker County
Huntsville
There are currently 1,425 customers out in the Groveton and Corrigan areas due to a transmission power line outage that occurred overnight. Workers assessed the damage this morning and are currently making repairs. The outage is predicted to be restored by tonight and all customers who can safely take should be restored.
Grimes County
Navasota
All customers in the Navasota area are 100 percent restored. Workers from this area have moved to assist restoration efforts in other impacted areas.
Entergy has brought additional restoration workers to Texas. As with most restoration efforts, Entergy is focusing on restoring power to essential services first, and then the effort will focus on restoring service to areas where the greatest numbers can be restored fastest. This is how we approach things at this stage:
- 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 cannot 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.
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, 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.
- Try to stay off the roads. 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.
Imminent flooding or evacuation:
- Before leaving, prepare your home by turning off your electricity at the main fuse or breaker and your water at the main valve. Also check for and secure objects that could cause damage if blown by high winds.
- When power is restored, look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or notice the smell of hot insulation, turn off the electricity at either the main fuse box or circuit breaker. You may need a licensed electrician to assess your equipment and assure safety.
- If it looks as though water may enter your home, it’s a good idea to open the main breaker in your electrical breaker box in order to cut off power.
After a flood:
Did the water level rise above your electrical outlets but stop below the electric meter?
If you are present when Entergy workers arrive:
- We will advise you to turn off your main breaker and have repairs made. You will then need to turn your main breaker back on.
- For your safety, we suggest a qualified electrician inspect electrical equipment inside of the facility or home, even if your city or parish does not require inspection. If the breaker is turned on before such inspections, you may cause personal injury or property damage.
For customers with property damage:
- If your property has any water damage, please 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.
- A licensed electrician may need to inspect your property’s electric wiring before we can restore power to a home or business that has water damage from rain or flood waters.
For customers without property damage:
- Property owners without storm damage should still be cautious.
- Look for electrical system damage after 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.
We want to keep you informed and in control. 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.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cell phone, text REG to 368374 or visit entergytext.com.
- Follow us on Twitter.com/EntergyTX or Facebook.com/EntergyTX.
- Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television and newspapers.
