NEW ORLEANS — Entergy’s Louisiana storm crews continue to assess damage and restore power where it is safe to do so, after a winter storm brought extremely cold temperatures, freezing rain and large amounts of ice accumulations to the state.
Entergy’s Louisiana utilities also are monitoring the potential impacts from a second winter storm that is expected to bring wintry precipitation. Freezing rain and ice could affect central and north Louisiana on Wednesday night and into Thursday, which could lead to additional power outages.
“Extremely cold temperatures continue to impact all of Louisiana today leading to increased power demand. We are asking customers to continue to conserve energy,” said John Hawkins, Entergy’s vice president of distribution operations in Louisiana. “Our crews are working to restore power as safely and quickly as possible. Please keep your distance from downed power lines and know that we’re working to provide you with latest information so that you can plan accordingly.”
As of 1 p.m., approximately 62,000 customers in Louisiana were without power, with portions of southwest Louisiana, Greater Baton Rouge and Northshore areas being hardest hit. Approximately 200 customers were without power in Orleans Parish.
In southwest Louisiana, Entergy Louisiana initiated power outages for some customers as directed by the company’s reliability coordinator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator. This was done as a last resort to prevent more extensive, prolonged power outages that could severely affect the reliability of the power grid.
The directive from MISO has since been lifted and crews have begun the process of restoring power to customers in southwest Louisiana. In other regions of the state, extremely cold temperatures have caused ice to build up and remain on the electric system as well as on trees and limbs. The added weight has knocked down power lines and has caused trees and limbs to fall into electric equipment.
A storm team of approximately 2,300 and growing is inspecting damages to the electric system in Louisiana, reporting their findings and restoring power where safely possible. The latest estimated times of restoration by parish can be found on the Entergy Storm Center.
Road closures due to icy conditions and other accessibility challenges may affect the ability of crews to reach some areas and could delay restoration in those communities. Also, crews will continue to take extra safety precautions and practice social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which could slow restoration as well.
Customers who have lost power can help crews by unplugging electric heating and appliances and turning them back on gradually after power is restored. Taking this step will help avoid damaging the electric system through increased instantaneous demand when power is restored to homes and businesses.
While crews focus first on restoring power to critical infrastructure and bringing the greatest number of customers on at the same time, crews often have to restore customers in phases during extremely cold weather, another step that is taken to avoid damaging the electric system through increased instantaneous demand.
