News Release > Number of Restoration Workers Increases; Nearly 90 Percent of Customers Affected by Storm Have Power

Number of Restoration Workers Increases; Nearly 90 Percent of Customers Affected by Storm Have Power

04/28/2015

The Woodlands, Texas -- The number of workers helping Entergy Texas, Inc. restore power in Southeast Texas continues to build today with most of the 1,300-strong workforce focused on the hardest hit areas, communities in and around Navasota, Huntsville, Conroe and Silsbee.

By noon today, power was restored to about 90 percent of those who were left without electricity after the thunderstorms passed through Monday morning. Areas closest to the coast, including Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange, have been restored.

"We have completed damage assessment in most of the areas we serve," said Vernon Pierce, customer service vice president for Entergy Texas. "Straight line winds and tree damage resulted in more than 60 poles knocked down, along with 222 spans of power line wire. Each span represents 300 feet, so the restoration crews have a lot of work to complete."

Power outages peaked at 8 a.m. Monday when some 40,065 customers were left without electricity. Although restoration times for all customers in the hardest hit areas remains set for noon Wednesday, April 29, most customers who can receive power will be restored before then.

"We work very methodically to restore power," Pierce explained. "We assess the damage to ensure we're working efficiently as well as safely and as quickly as possible. We focus on emergency facilities such as police and fire, and as we reach into neighborhoods, we work to restore power to as many customers at a time as we can."

Pierce added a safety precaution, reminding customers to stay away from any downed power lines and to assume that any power line they come across is live.

Customers can keep track of power outages and restoration progress at View Outages on the Entergy Texas website. Additionally, customers who sign up for myAccount online text messaging will receive messages from Entergy letting them know when power is out, when it's expected to be restored and when the restoration is complete.

Entergy Texas, Inc. delivers electricity to 430,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

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