Entergy Louisiana crews restore power to most areas after Hurricane Barry
Entergy Louisiana is making progress with its power restoration efforts after Hurricane Barry knocked out power to at least 250,000 residents in southern Louisiana.
Entergy Louisiana crews have been out working to restore power after the Category 1 storm dropped some 7 inches of rain in some areas and caused flooding. As of Sunday night, power was restored for about 235,000 customers and outages remained for about 27,000 customers, most of them in the Baton Rouge area. A line of additional severe storms, including tornados, have caused additional damage and made restoration more challenging, the company said.
According to the Edison Electric Institute, impacted electric companies report that they already have restored power to more than 265,000 customers since the storm began. As of 11:00 a.m. EDT on July 15, approximately 48,000 customers were without power in the wake of Barry, added EEI, which represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.
In Louisiana, the biggest challenges have been in the Bayou Region, which includes Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes. The challenges stem from inaccessible roadways due to high water and high winds that initially had kept Entergy crews from using bucket trucks. Power in Grand Isle and nearly all of Port Fourchon, which had been inaccessible due to flooding, has been turned back on.
Efforts continued Sunday night into Monday as workers assess damage using drones, where possible, and restoring service.
“The crews are making great progress. We’ve restored a large number of customers already,” Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, said in a storm update on Sunday.
“We continue restoring service, where it is safe to do so, after Barry,” Entergy Louisiana said on Twitter Sunday night. “Another line of severe weather, including tornadoes, moved through south Louisiana today, causing additional damage and slowing restoration in the hardest-hit areas.”
In the Greater Baton Rouge area, most of the damage from the storm is in the rear of residential lots. When restoration efforts require work to be done in backyard areas, it usually takes more time due to the challenge of accessing those areas with equipment and working on ground that is softened by excessive rain. As service is restored in other parts of the state, Entergy will reassign crews to areas still without power.
Electric companies will continue their storm restoration efforts until all power is restored, but the process could be lengthy in some areas. Power restoration is a detailed process, Edison Electric Institute explained.
“In hard-hit areas, estimated restoration times will be determined after field crews first complete damage assessments. Flooding creates a unique and dangerous restoration environment. The first step of storm restoration is damage assessment, and safety is the top priority. Flooding can create access issues and make it more difficult to safely make repairs, which may result in longer than usual power restoration times,” EEI stated in a storm restoration update.
EEI, through its member companies, urges customers to immediately report sagging or downed power lines in their area. They also remind residents never to use a generator inside a home, garage, crawl space, any other enclosed area. Further, never drive, walk, or swim through flood water, and don’t go around barricades.
