Insights > Entergy Louisiana Winter Storm Update – 2/19/21 @ 9 p.m.

Entergy Louisiana Winter Storm Update – 2/19/21 @ 9 p.m.

02/19/2021

Entergy Louisiana’s crews and contractors made significant progress Friday restoring power to customers affected by winter storms that brought damaging freezing rain and ice to the southern, central and northern regions of the state.

We expect to restore power to the remaining customers in south Louisiana by tonight. In this region, additional outages were reported Wednesday and Thursday, and crews have faced cold load pickup issues, among other challenges.

It’s also important to note that outage numbers can fluctuate depending on progress in the field and whether additional outages occur as limbs and trees can give way days after a storm passes.

In the central and northern regions, crews could be facing a multi-day restoration effort in the hardest-hit areas, especially those south of I-20. Scouts continue to assess damages and report their findings to local networks. Those reports will help local networks continue refining their restoration plan and develop estimated times of restoration, which we expect to provide customers sometime as soon as they become available.

A storm team of more than 4,000 restoration workers, including line workers and tree trimmers, are on hand working to restore power as quickly and safely.

While damage assessments and restoration work are ongoing, dangerous driving conditions are slowing travel to impacted areas.

We use a methodical and calculated process in bringing customers back online after an outage in extremely cold weather, regardless of whether the initial cause of the outage was specifically weather-related. Rather than energizing an entire power line at once, we must bring customers back online one section at a time to avoid damage to our system that could make the situation worse.

Cold weather outage restoration can be hampered by a sudden demand from electric heaters and large appliances when power returns. If you lose power, please turn off or unplug these appliances until power is restored. You may want to leave a lamp turned on to indicate when power is restored.

Our restoration focus includes ensuring the safety of our workers. We restore service to customers by closing circuit breakers, rerouting power and other means.

As we learn more about the damage, we put in place a restoration plan that helps us restore the greatest number of customers safely in the shortest amount of time. Additionally, our workforce continues to practice social distancing and we ask that customers do the same. For their safety and yours, please stay away from work zones.

Estimated Restoration Times

East Baton Rouge Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 67
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power have been restored with a few customer outages, most of which occurred after Tuesday, extending into Saturday, February 20.

Livingston Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 8
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power have been restored.

St. Helena Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 5
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power have been restored.

Tangipahoa Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 24
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power have been restored with a few customer outages extending into Saturday, February 20.

North and Central Louisiana Parishes:

Avoyelles Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 1865
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 55%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Bienville Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 173
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 90%
Estimated restoration: While most customers will be restored by 10 p.m. February 20, some isolated cases may extend into February 21.

Caldwell Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2914
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 55%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Catahoula Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 6
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 25%
Estimated restoration: Customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Concordia Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2834
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 25%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

East Carroll Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 446
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 85%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Franklin Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2066
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 25%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Grant Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 562
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 55%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Jackson Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 182
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 90%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Lasalle Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 1579
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 55%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Lincoln Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Madison Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 1615
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 85%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.


Morehouse Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 569
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 85%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Natchitoches Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 31
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 90%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Ouachita Parish
Monroe/West Monroe:
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 1190
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 20.

Other Areas:
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 169
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 55%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Red River Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 34
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: We expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 20.

Richland Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2768
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 65%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 22.

Tensas Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 2338
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 35%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Webster Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 45
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 100%
Estimated restoration: The vast majority of customers who can accept power are expected to be restored by 10 p.m., February 20.

West Carroll Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 480
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 85%
Estimated restoration: While some customers may be restored sooner, we expect the vast majority of customers who can accept power to be restored by 10 p.m., February 21.

Winn Parish
Number of outages as of 5 p.m.: 1801
Percentage of damage assessments complete: 75%
Estimated restoration: While most customers will be restored by 10 p.m. February 20, some isolated cases may extend into February 21.

Customers should also be mindful of the following safety tips and ways to stay up to date during an outage.

Safety

Stay away from downed power lines. You can’t tell from looking at them whether they are energized or not, so assume they are. Report them to 1-800-9OUTAGE.

If you have a portable generator, use it safely. DO NOT run it in an enclosed space. If connecting to the whole house, do so only if the connection has been installed by a licensed electrician. More information is available on Entergy Storm Center.

Stay clear of linemen as they work. Our crews continue to practice social distancing and we ask that customers do the same.

Stay in touch

Download the Entergy app for Apple or Android operating systems at Entergy.com/app.

Register for address-specific alerts by texting REG to 36778. Customers will need an account number and ZIP code. Once registered, text OUT to 36778 to report an outage.

Follow Entergy Louisiana at Facebook.com/EntergyLA or Twitter.com/EntergyLA.

Follow updates in local news media, including radio, television and newspapers.

Conserve Energy to Help Prevent Outages

The demand for power remains extremely high during this period of sustained cold weather and continues to strain the electric grid. We ask customers not affected by outages to continue minimizing energy usage as much as possible until the extreme cold weather passes. 

By being mindful of your electricity usage you are helping prevent the need for additional forced outages.

  • Keep warm, not hot. Lower your thermostat to 68 degrees. When possible, wear additional layers of clothing.
  • Unplug electronic devices and turn off lights that are not in use.
  • When the sun is shining, open blinds, drapes and curtains to let in the sun’s warmth.
  • Hold off on doing chores. Delay laundry, washing dishes and other non-essential uses of electricity.
  • Wash clothes with cold water, shower quickly instead of taking a bath, cook foods at the lowest possible setting and refrain from opening the oven door while baking.
  • Don’t allow warmed air to escape from the home.

Doing your part to conserve energy can also reduce consumption on your electric bill. Remember that It takes more electricity to heat your home during periods of extreme cold. When using an air conditioner to cool, excess heat is taken from inside your home and moved outside. Heating your home requires a machine inside to make heat and then move it.

We appreciate your patience and your conservation efforts. For more tips and storm updates, visit entergy.com/winterweather.


Louisiana Editorial Team