NEW ORLEANS – Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans continue to actively monitor the frigid temperatures and winter precipitation expected to move through the region this weekend. While forecasts are continually changing and the exact impact to the Louisiana service area is hard to predict, crews are prepared to respond to whatever Mother Nature delivers.
As an added customer support measure, both companies have made the decision to suspend disconnects through at least Monday, Jan. 26.
Restoration efforts following winter storms can be difficult and dangerous for a multitude of reasons, including weighed-down vegetation, icy road conditions and freezing temperatures. Customers are urged to take precautions now and not impede our work zones should outages occur for both their safety and the safety of Entergy crews.
The company says in a press release that it has taken a series of proactive pre-winter actions to prepare to serve our customers during extreme temperatures, including:
- Insulating critical power plant equipment using improved methods and materials that allow them to withstand lower temperatures.
- Insulating or draining piping within power generation facilities with potential for standing water during normal operation, to prevent freezing and breaks.
- Inspecting and maintaining substations and transmission lines that are critical to Bulk Electric System reliability.
- Inspecting and testing equipment that can be impacted by extreme cold, such as gas-filled circuit breakers.
- Additional vegetation trimming, which removes tree limbs that would normally have been above the power line.
"As our teams prepare, we encourage our customers to prepare as well. Visit our Storm Center, a one-stop website for information on storm safety, preparation, restoration and regular updates specific to the storm," the release states.
Here's what the release says Entergy does to prepare for weather:
To ensure our company and customers are prepared for the winter weather ahead, we continue to implement unique readiness plans at each power plant and review measures taken with transmission lines and transmission facilities, while reviewing critical systems and infrastructure preparedness across the grid.
When a weather threat arises, we ramp up support [entergy.com]. We use forecasts and computer models based on experience with previous storms to predict damages and associated restoration resource needs. Based on those estimates, the company may call on restoration workers from around the country [entergynewsroom.com] if needed to aid in restoring power safely and quickly for our customers. However, given the large footprint of the storm across the region, securing these additional assets may prove more difficult than normal. Entergy continuously plans and improves the process of assessing damage, positioning personnel in the right place with the required materials to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.
We take steps to maintain and control vegetation across our service area, completing annual clearing of right-of-way areas to minimize the impact from fallen trees or branches following a storm. Prior to storms impacting our area, vegetation crews perform pre-storm patrols of circuits to mitigate any imminent threats within the right of way. Our year-round storm preparations include the vegetation management program and the targeted “ground to sky” vegetation trimming [entergy.com], 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.
Here are some links to information the company offers to customers to help them prepare:
- Get prepared [entergynewsroom.com]: Make a plan, make a kit.
- Prepare your home [entergynewsroom.com]: Winterize inside and out.
- Your mobile phone [entergynewsroom.com]: A lifeline during a disaster.
- Stay informed [entergynewsroom.com]: Download the app, report an outage.
- Stay safe [entergynewsroom.com]: Safety after the storm.
- Generator safety [entergy.com]: Know the hazards.
- Extreme cold safety [entergynewsroom.com]: Indoor and outdoor tips.
Verify your contact information in your online myEntergy account [myentergy.com] before severe weather strikes, so you receive our notifications. If a storm impacts your area, you can report an outage quickly and easily through our digital options – using either our free mobile app [entergy.com], online at myEntergy.com [myentergy.com] or by texting OUT to 36778.
