315 Louisiana workers traveling to assist with restoration efforts in Arkansas, Texas

BATON ROUGE, La. - Entergy crews have completed power restoration to more than 8,200 Entergy customers across Louisiana who lost electricity due to a severe weather system that swept across the state on Christmas Day.

As of 5 p.m. today, crews had restored electrical service to all customers in Louisiana who could safely accept power following the severe thunderstorms. With Louisiana restoration efforts complete, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C., Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy New Orleans, Inc. are teaming up to send approximately 315 workers - including scouts, vegetation workers, linemen and support crews - to assist in restoring power to Entergy customers in Arkansas and Texas, where storm damage to the electrical infrastructure is extensive. At 4 p.m., nearly 170,000 Entergy customers were without power, the vast majority in Arkansas.

"The line of storms that rolled across the Deep South on Christmas Day brought rain, sleet, snow and high winds to Entergy's service territory and interrupted power service to more than 242,500 customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas," said Dennis Dawsey, Louisiana vice president of transmission and distribution operations. "Our state was fortunate to be spared the worst of the storm's damage, and the dedication of our employees - who left their homes and families to work on Christmas Day - resulted in a safe and rapid restoration of power across Louisiana.

"With their task completed here, a number of our travel teams are showing their commitment once again by heading to help restore power to Entergy customers in Arkansas and Texas," Dawsey continued. "Storm damage in those service areas was extensive, and getting the lights back on for all customers will be a challenging process that could take a week or longer in Arkansas' hardest-hit areas. Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Texas have come to the aid of our customers many times over the years, and we're glad to be able to lend  a hand now in their time of need."

Entergy's utility companies participate in mutual-assistance agreements within the Entergy network as well as with utility companies across the country to send restoration workers to help safely restore power when and where needed. The Louisiana crews sent to Arkansas and Texas were drawn from work groups across the state, leaving enough personnel in Louisiana to manage routine day-to-day work going forward and respond to any future outages that may occur with additional bad weather, including storms predicted for the Louisiana service territory on Dec. 28 and Jan. 1.

In anticipation of these predicted storms and possible outages they may cause, Entergy urges customers to prepare themselves and heed safety best practices. Customers can visit entergylouisiana.com/myaccount or text REG to 368374 from their cellphones sign up for outage texting or to receive outage alerts by phone. In addition, storm-preparedness and safety tips are available on the Entergy Storm Center at entergy.com. Winter storm-safety tips include:

  • Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines.
  • Don't trim trees or remove debris on or near downed power lines. Only power company crews or their contractors should remove trees or limbs touching power lines.
  • Keep away from fences and other objects that can become energized if they come in contact with downed power lines.
  • If you plan on using a generator for temporary power, get a licensed electrician and disconnect from the utility electric system before hooking up to your home main electric panel.
  • Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation.

Entergy urges all customers with a power outage or a downed power line to report it by calling 1-800 9OUTAGE (1-800 968-8243) toll-free.

Entergy's Louisiana utility companies serve more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are part of Entergy Corporation's electric system serving 2.8 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.



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