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Insights > Entergy Mississippi storm update – 6/17/23, 10 p.m.
Entergy Mississippi storm update – 6/17/23, 10 p.m.
06/17/2023
In the last week, Entergy Mississippi has restored nearly 138,000 customers after back-to-back storms afflicted our service area beginning Saturday, June 10. Just as restoration for those thunderstorms was nearing completion, severe weather struck again. A second wave of thunderstorms, including 80 mph winds, ripped through Mississippi early Friday morning, causing widespread damage and power outages in more than 20 of the 45 counties Entergy Mississippi serves. As of 8 p.m., about 36,200 customers remain without power.
A workforce of more than 1,550 lineworkers, scouts, vegetation crews and other support personnel from are currently assessing damage while simultaneously restoring power as quickly and safely as possible.
“We greatly appreciate our customers and know being without power anytime, but especially in these heat conditions, is challenging and frustrating,” said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. “Our employees have been in storm response mode for seven consecutive days now, restoring more than 138,000 customers in that time. The reach and extent of damage from Friday’s weather alone is unlike any we’ve seen in recent years with damaged facilities impacting such a significant number of customers. It may be the most outages in our service area at once since Hurricane Katrina. Our crews have restored nearly 70,000 customers since Friday morning.
“We want customers to know we’re activating every resource at our disposal to restore your power. Hundreds of men and women are following our proven restoration plan to get all our customers’ power back on in the quickest, safest manner possible. We ask our customers for your continued patience as we work to get power flowing again while also keeping you and our workforce safe.”
Some of the hardest hit areas include Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Warren, Adams, Attalla, Bolivar, DeSoto, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Holmes, Humphreys, Scott and Simpson counties. The extent of the damage and extreme heat, coupled with damages sustained from storms earlier in the week, are impacting restoration efforts. Additionally, another wave of severe weather is expected to affect our service area in the next few days, which could cause additional outages.
“Since last Saturday, our crews have had to keep pace with these strong, fast-moving systems as they caused outages from the northern to southern borders of the state,” said Fisackerly. “We’ve re-routed crews to keep up with the challenges Mother Nature has thrown at us and still restored an incredible number of customer outages.”
With storm damage of this magnitude, we expect the restoration effort to last several days. It takes time to assess damage to our equipment and facilities to determine what corrective actions and repairs are needed. Restoration times in the hardest hit areas depend on the extent of damage to Entergy’s electrical facilities.
A multi-day restoration effort
The storm damage to our systems is extensive and as of 5 p.m., our crews have found 161 poles, nearly 178,00 feet of downed power lines, 123 damaged cross arms and 40 damaged transformers. We anticipate these numbers will rise as we complete damage assessment, which we expect to conclude by noon Monday.
Our scouts are assessing damage to determine the exact cause of your outage and how long it will take to correct the problem. We'll be better prepared to give an estimated time to restore your power after the full assessment is completed, which can take up to three days.
While we are assessing damage, we will restore service where it is safe to do so. Repairs begin at the source, with power plants, followed by large transmission lines and substations. The order in which we bring back on customers is also deliberate. We start with essential services, move on to large neighborhoods and then to individual homes. When restoration is complete in one area, we move those crews to another area.
Keep in mind that if you don’t see us working near you, we may be working on another part of the electrical system that you can’t see but must be repaired to get power to you. And, if trucks move away from your area before power is restored, keep in mind that our work must take lace in a certain order to get electricity flowing to you. Trucks and workers will return to your area as soon as possible to complete the restoration work.
Our crews work 16-hour shifts, followed by 8 hours mandatory rest time, to ensure their personal safety. These practices are part of normal operations, which ensure that customer restoration work is done safely and efficiently. We appreciate our customers’ patience as our crews work as safely and quickly as possible to restore power to everyone.
Safety
The weather forecast includes high temperatures for the next few days. To protect yourself and your families, follow these recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Drink fluids, even if you don't feel thirsty.
- Wear loose, lightweight clothing and a hat.
- Replace salt lost from sweating by drinking fruit juice or sports drinks.
- Avoid spending time outdoors during the hottest part of the day, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Wear sunscreen; sunburn affects the body's ability to cool itself.
- Air conditioning is the best way to cool off; if you are using a generator, do so safely.
As with any weather event, we urge customers to be mindful of these additional safety tips:
- Live wires can be deadly. Stay away from downed power lines. Call 1-800-9OUTAGE or 1-800-968-8243 to report downed or dangling power lines, damaged or downed poles or other damaged equipment.
- Do not 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. Again, stay away from downed power lines.
- Keep away from the immediate areas where crews are working. There is always the danger of moving equipment and the possibility of construction materials, limbs or overhead wires falling to the ground.
- 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 main electric panel.
- Do not run a generator in a confined space without adequate ventilation. Use them only outdoors, following all manufacturers’ safety guidelines.
- Turn off any electrical appliances that can easily be turned to the off position until power is restored.
- Try to stay off the roads in affected areas. More traffic in bad weather leads to more accidents, including more injuries and fatalities as well as accidents that can damage electrical poles and other equipment, creating outages and impeding the ability of crews to access and repair damage and slowing restoration.
- Be on alert: stormy weather also increases scam attempts:
- Entergy will never demand immediate payment from customers over the phone. Customers should never share personal information with strangers.
- If a call sounds suspicious, hang-up and call 1-800-ENTERGY (800-368-3749) to speak directly with an Entergy customer service representative.
- If you believe you are a victim of a scam, notify the proper authorities, such as the local police or the state attorney general's office.
- Learn more about how to spot a scam by visiting, entergy.com/scams.
We want to keep you informed and in control. The best way to get information about outages is via Entergy’s View Outage page on our website. Additional resources for your convenience:
- Download our app for your smartphone at entergy.com/app or visit Entergy Storm Center to stay informed on our restoration progress.
- Sign up for text alerts. From your cellphone, text R E G to 368374, or visit entergytext.com.
- Follow us on Twitter.com/EntergyMS and Facebook.com/EntergyMS.
- Follow updates in your local news media, like radio, television, and newspapers.
