NIGHT UPDATE: As of 8 p.m., Cleco had restored power to 92 percent, or 129,018, of the 140,000 customers affected by Hurricane Laura.
Parish, Number of Customers Without Power, % of Customers With Power Restored
Allen 124 customers without power; 98% restored
Avoyelles 15 customers without power; 99% restored
Beauregard 2,194 customers without power; 58% restored
Calcasieu 2,455 customers without power; 3% restored
Catahoula 18 customers without power; 61% restored
Grant 1,937 customers without power; 76% restored
Jefferson Davis 12 customers without power; 70% restored
Lasalle 9 customers without power; 40% restored
Natchitoches 80 customers without power; 88% restored
Rapides 3,189 customers without power; 92% restored
Sabine 8 customers without power; 99% restored
Vernon 941 customers without power; 84% restored
Percentages are based on total customers affected by Hurricane Laura; not Cleco’s total customer base.
EVENING UPDATE: As of 4 p.m., Cleco had restored power to 91 percent, or 127,831, of the 140,000 customers affected by Hurricane Laura with the most significant declines in Grant and Rapides parishes. Power has been restored to 69 percent of customers in Grant Parish and 92 percent of customers in Rapides Parish.
“Because we’re currently experiencing some extremely high temperatures, Cleco is urging customers to take the necessary precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management. “As our crews continue working to restore power, we’re taking the necessary precautions to protect Cleco crews and contractor crews, and we urge our customers to do the same to avoid heat-related illnesses.”
How to prevent heat-related illnesses:
· Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids.
· Wear loose comfortable clothing.
· Wear sunscreen.
· Don’t leave children and pets in cars even with a window cracked open.
· If you have a pre-existing health problem, ask your doctor before jumping into outdoor activities.
Below you can see the number of customers still without power, as well as the percent of customers restored, by parish.
Allen: 156 without power; 97% restored
Avoyelles 16 without power; 99% restored
Beauregard 2,505 without power; 52% restored
Calcasieu 2,461 without power; 3% restored
Catahoula 18 without power; 61% restored
Grant 2,511 without power; 69% restored
Jefferson Davis 19 without power; 53% restored
Lasalle 9 without power; 40% restored
Natchitoches 80 without power; 88% restored
Rapides 3,325 without power; 92% restored
Sabine 11 without power; 99% restored
Vernon 1,058 without power; 82% restored
PREVIOUS UPDATE: As of 1 p.m. today, Cleco had restored power to 91 percent of the customers impacted by Hurricane Laura.
“Hurricane Laura has had the most significant impact of recent storms on the Cleco system,” said James Lass. “For parts of our system, it is a restoration effort, but for other parts, we are having to rebuild before we can begin restoring power.”
Distribution damage included:
· 1,600 downed or broken poles
· 1,000 damaged transformers
· 4,700 damaged crossarms
· 5,500 trees on power lines
· 350 miles of distribution conductor down
Transmission system impact included:
· 163 damaged structures
· 408 trees on lines
· 53 lines out of service
· 35 substations out of service
“With system assessment and restoration efforts ongoing, we expect these numbers to increase,” said Lass.
Restoration Assessment
Below are restoration estimates. Please note that unexpected damage or inclement weather could impact restoration efforts and timelines.
Sabine Parish
· In the Zwolle/Many/Toldeo Bend corridor, all customers who can accept power are with power.
Vernon Parish
· Lee Hill subdivision – Right-of-way crews began working there on Thursday, Sept. 3, to clear debris, crews started making repairs Friday Sept. 4, and approximately 15 additional line crews were added to the area yesterday, Saturday, Sept. 5. Today, Sunday, Sept. 6, more resources and equipment were allocated. Initially, expected that customers would have power restored by Monday, Sept. 7 However, crews are uncovering additional damage. Restoration is now projected to be Thursday, Sept. 10.
· Lions Camp Club community – Crews projected restoration by end of day yesterday, Saturday, Sept. 5. While the team met the goal, a tree fell and caused system damage and outages. Crews are working, and customers should have power restored today, Sunday, Sept. 6.
Beauregard Parish
· Deridder – While restoration efforts are going well in this area, crews anticipate restoration will be a multi-week event. Crews are working, and an additional 15 crews were added yesterday, Saturday, Sept. 5. On top of the 15 crews added yesterday, an additional seven crews were added today, Sunday, Sept. 6.
· Merryville – Crews are working in this area, and additional resources will be allocated tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 7. This will be a multi-week restoration event.
Calcasieu Parish (Dequincy)
· Repairs to the system and restoration of power efforts continue. On top of the crews currently working in the area, 13 crews were added to the area today.
Rapides Parish
· Forest Hill – Crews are 90 percent complete with restoration efforts. Estimated restoration for remaining 10 percent of customers is Monday, Sept. 7.
· Glenmora – 90 percent complete and expect remaining customers to be restored by Monday, Sept. 7
· Kincaid area – Amelia Street, Kisatchie Lane and Collina Heights areas are expected to have power restored by Tuesday, Sept. 8.
· Ball – All customers who can accept power have been restored.
· Twin Bridges Road, Alexandria – Crews are working today, Sunday, Sept. 6 and expect customers to be restored today.
· Otis – While we expect to make progress each day, we expect full restoration by Friday, Sept. 11
· Flatwoods substation to Mora Road / Clifton Settlement area / Pine Coupee – power expected to be restored today, Sunday, Sept. 6
· Flatwoods to Sharp Baptist Church – Customers in this area should have power restored by Sunday, Sept. 6
· Lena – Customers on Lena/Flatwoods Road should receive power today, Sunday, Sept. 6.
· Three schools (JI Barron, Northwood High School and Oak Hill High School) to be restored today, Sunday, Sept. 6
· Valentine Lake – Power should be restored by Monday, Sept. 7.
Grant Parish
· Gray’s Creek in Bentley – Expect restoration by Friday, Sept. 11
Allen Parish
· Oakdale – Previous estimated restoration projection was Monday, Sept. 7, and then moved to Sunday, Sept. 6. However, crews made progress and as of end of day yesterday, Saturday, Sept. 5, all customers who can accept power have power.
· Town of Elizabeth – Power restored to all customers who can accept power, yesterday, Saturday, Sept. 5.
· Kinder – Crews continue working on remaining customers in rural areas outside of town and initially projected restoration efforts to be complete by Wednesday, Sept. 9. However, crews are making progress and the restoration is now projected to be complete by noon on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
For previous updates and restoration information, visit the company’s Facebook @ClecoPower and Cleco’s website at cleco.com.
PREVIOUS UPDATE:
As of 8 a.m., Cleco reports the company had restored power to 90 percent of the 140,000 customers affected by Hurricane Laura.
“We are continuing our restoration efforts today and will work until we have restored power to all of our customers,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management.
Here are the remaining number of customers without power, followed by the percent of customers restored.
Allen: 154 without power; 97% restored
Avoyelles: 26 without power; 99% restored
Beauregard: 2,550 without power; 52% restored
Calcasieu: 2,455 without power; 3% restored
Catahoula: 18 without power; 61% restored
Desoto: 349 without power; 93% restored
Evangeline: 142 without power; 99% restored
Grant: 2,360 without power; 71% restored
Jefferson Davis: 19 without power; 53% restored
Lasalle: 9 without power; 40% restored
Natchitoches: 106 without power; 85% restored
Rapides: 4,477 without power; 89% restored
Vernon: 1,751 without power; 70% restored
For additional information on Cleco’s storm restoration efforts, follow the company on Facebook @ClecoPower or visit Cleco’s Storm Center page at cleco.com/storm-center.
