Entergy Louisiana continues work to improve reliability in service territory
Entergy Louisiana crews and contractors will be doing work on its electric system over the next six months in rural areas west and south of Baton Rouge.
The work, conducted to improve reliability, will take place in Livonia, Grosse Tete, Plaquemine and Bayou Pigeon, and their surrounding areas. The goal is to improve service for around 5,400 Entergy and Pointe Coupee Electric residential and business customers. PC Electric is a wholesale power provider that receives power from Entergy’s power grid.
The reliability work began in early November and is expected to be completed in the spring of next year. Specifically, it involves upgrades on four distribution-level power lines:
• Livonia, where new utility poles and crossarms — equipment that keeps power lines in the air — will be installed. Most of the work will be performed along Highway 90, LA 41 and LA 77.
• Grosse Tete, where, along with miscellaneous improvements, more than 70 new utility poles will be installed, and substation equipment will be upgraded. Most of the work will be performed near Highway 77 and Sydney Road.
• Plaquemine, where, along with trimming trees and limbs away from power lines to mitigate the potential for vegetation-related outages, around eight new utility poles and six crossarms will be installed. Most of the work will be performed along Highway 75.
• Bayou Pigeon, where a self-healing network, which consists of smart devices and automation being built into the electric system to make it more resilient, will be constructed. This includes the installation of three reclosers as well as nine new utility poles with five of them being 60-foot composite poles. Most of the work will be performed along Highway 69 and Highway 404 near White Castle.
“We’re always working to strengthen the electric system in communities we serve across Louisiana and that includes in rural areas,” Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO, said. “We’re looking forward to putting new poles in the ground and improving the system to provide not only our customers, but also customers of our neighboring utility, Pointe Coupee Electric, with reliable service.”
As mentioned, the multi-faceted initiative will include everything from tree trimming to the installation of new poles and the incorporation of automation to harden the electric system and make it more resilient.
“We thank Entergy for joining forces with Pointe Coupee Electric to enhance the local electric system,” Myron Lambert, Pointe Coupee Electric general manager, said. “Through this collaboration, we’re taking steps to create a more resilient and reliable system and deliver improved service to our valued customers.”
Entergy Louisiana provides electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in 58 parishes and natural gas service to approximately 95,000 customers in Baton Rouge.
