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Restoration Update
04/12/2020
The severe weather predicted earlier is causing power outages for our customers. Our workers are remaining safe, and we encourage you to do the same. Power restoration is underway where it is safe for our workers to be in the field.
At 12:15 p.m., we had 28,000 customers out of power due to the storms, with the majority in Louisiana. Outages could continue across our territory today into tonight as the storms move to the east.
We know you want information about your outage. As it becomes safe to do so, our damage assessment teams patrol our lines and view the facilities to determine how much the storm damaged our electrical system. Our scouts provide details that help us know what we need to do to restore your service and to let you know how long it may take.
Here’s how we approach restoration at this point.
- 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 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.
- More information about how we restore power after the storm.
You should stay safe during the storm.
- 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 (800-968-8243).
- Stay away from standing water and debris from trees and other vegetation. It may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
Our additional requested 475 restoration workers are scheduled to begin arriving today from other utilities and contractors. The extra workers coming to help us will gather at staging sites to prepare to restore service. 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.
As we restore service, we will maintain our additional safety precautions adopted due to COVID-19 pandemic. Along with our standard storm preparations, we are taking additional steps to adjust crew staging locations to help team members maintain social distancing.
Due to the additional efforts we must take due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restoration times may be extended, especially if there are numerous, widespread outages.
