News Release > Entergy to Perform Significant Reliability Work Along Highland Road in Baton Rouge

Entergy to Perform Significant Reliability Work Along Highland Road in Baton Rouge

10/19/2021

Customers and motorists asked to be mindful of workers in the area and potential traffic delays

BATON ROUGE, La. – As part of its commitment to providing reliable power, Entergy Louisiana will be performing significant reliability work along an approximately three-mile stretch of Highland Road in Baton Rouge. The work will benefit about 2,600 commercial and residential customers in the area.

Crews will begin work this week and continue through mid-to-late December pending weather and barring any unforeseen circumstances. They will replace about 130 utility poles and hang about 150 spans (approximately 64,250 feet) of new power lines in the air. They will also incorporate smart devices into the electric system serving the area, including four reclosers and three trip savers.

Reclosers, for example, sectionalize the electric system to prevent power outages while also helping protect it from damage. These devices give the electric system an opportunity to keep power flowing following temporary impacts like a tree limb falling onto a power line or an animal contacting equipment. Like reclosers, tripsavers give the electric system an opportunity to keep power flowing following temporary impacts; however, these devices protect laterals (smaller lines) typically seen in neighborhoods rather than main trunk lines typically seen along highways.

Most of the work will take place along Highland Road between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Pecue Lane, and Entergy Louisiana is asking that motorists exercise caution if they encounter a utility crew working beside a roadway. Traffic will be directed safely around any work sites where necessary. Some work must be performed along the roadway, meaning portions of one lane of Highland Road will be inaccessible to traffic at times. Please consider alternative routes as this could cause some traffic delays. Also, if planned outages are necessary for crews to safely perform some of the work, the company will alert customers who will be impacted through their preferred channel of communication.

Maintaining and improving the electric system is an ongoing process. Entergy Louisiana’s reliability experts routinely inspect and evaluate components such as poles, power lines, transformers and switches and use data to make strategic decisions around the replacement or enhancement of equipment. To learn more about our reliability efforts, visit the Entergy Newsroom.

“Our objective is always to keep the lights on and prevent power outages before they occur, and this project along Highland Road is going to help us do just that,” said Seth Schilling, Entergy Louisiana customer service manager.

He added, “I’m excited about the work we’re doing to build a more resilient electric system in the Baton Rouge area. We’re committed to providing reliable service and will continue taking a strategic and data-driven approach to maintaining and upgrading the system in the Capital City.”

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to more than 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. It has operations in southern, central and northern Louisiana.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,500 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media.

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