UPDATE: 5/23/25 2:00 pm update - "A lightning arrestor on the transmission line that brings power to our Neville and Mouton substations did it’s job. Lightning struck the transmission line very near one of the substations in a direct strike. Instead of damaging the equipment in the substation, the lightning arrestor took the hit, performing exactly as it is supposed to, protecting sensitive substation equipment that would have caused a much longer outage," SLEMCO posted on Facebook.
"Although any outage is a royal pain, especially in the heat, lightning arrestors reduce the amount of time needed to restore power because substation equipment is left untouched and undamaged. Thank you to those customers who noticed both lightning advisories, vehicle accidents and a double-wide being moved at the same time as the power going out. The more information we have to determine outage causes, the quicker we can get the power back on, because we don’t like outages any more than you do. Have a great weekend, everyone. Thanks for your patience and support," the post states.
Around 1 p.m., about 12,000 SLEMCO customers were without power in Lafayette.
The company said they know it's a transmission issue but their crews are still trying to locate the problem.
UPDATE: LUS says they have no outages as of 2 p.m. Friday. Lafayette Police are reporting an issue with the light at Pinhook and Kaliste Saloom, which is causing some back-up. They also had a crash in the Camellia-Kaliste Saloom area, which caused some traffic issues earlier Friday.
Here's the SLEMCO post:
