Entergy prepared for winter season in Louisiana

Entergy’s Louisiana utilities are ready for the winter season as its crews and contractors are prepared to respond to power outages and provide reliable service for customers.

With the El Nino expected to remain in place across the winter season for the first time in four years, Entergy is anticipating wetter and cooler winter months this year.

Last year, January and February brought several weather events to the region, which featured high winds, freezing rains, and ice accumulation. The previous winter saw similar conditions, and the winter season of 2021 saw the coldest outbreak in the United States in more than 30 years.

This winter, Entergy will perform the necessary winterization measures and other seasonal assessments at its power plants, transmission lines and facilities, and with any equipment and assets that can be affected by the cold. This includes inspecting and maintaining substations and transmission lines and testing equipment to identify possible performance issues.

The company uses forecasts and computer models to predict an estimated number and duration of outages that could possibly occur. And based on those estimates, the company calls on restoration workers from around the country to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.

Beforehand, the company takes steps to maintain and control vegetation across its service area, completing annual clearing of right-of-way areas to minimize the impact from fallen trees or branches following a storm.

“Our year-round storm preparations include the vegetation management program and the targeted “ground to sky” vegetation trimming, which removes tree limbs that would normally have been above the power line. We also use artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to help predict when trimming may be needed,” Entergy officials said.

Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans encourage customers to verify their contact information in their online myEntergy account before severe weather strikes. That way, they will receive all notifications.

Entergy Louisiana provides electric service to more than 1 million customers in 58 parishes and natural gas service to more than 94,000 customers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Entergy New Orleans is an electric and gas utility that serves Louisiana’s Orleans Parish. It provides electricity to more than 209,000 customers and natural gas to more than 110,000 customers.