39 percent of state without power
by mark ballard and rebekah allen
Capitol news bureau
August 29, 2012
The Louisiana Public Service Commission announced Wednesday night that about 39 percent of the state is without power.
About 830,280 of the state’s 2.1 million customers of regulated utility companies were without power as of 6:10 p.m., according to Colby Cook of the PSC staff.
Fifty percent, or 99,664, of the 199,172 customers in East Baton Rouge Parish are without electricity, he said. In Ascension Parish, 28,820 of the 48,695 customers, or 59 percent, were without power and in Livingston Parish, 65 percent, or 38,679 of the parish’s 59,888 utility customers were without electricity.
“It’ll continue to go up until after the eye passes,†Cook said, which means central Louisiana will get hit tomorrow. Hopefully, crews are projected to start restoration along the coast on Thursday.
Seventy-one percent or 4,189 of West Feliciana Parish’s 5,904 utility customers were without power, while 61 percent or 6,241 of 10,209 customers had no electricity in East Feliciana Parish. In Pointe Coupee Parish, 8,627 customers or 75 percent of the 11,552 total were powerless.
Lafayette Parish had only 7 percent outages – 3,313 out of 50,055 customers – at the latest tally, Cook said.
Entergy reported 45 transmission lines were down and 19 substations were offline. Most of the damage was in the south and southeastern portions of the state. Transmission lines transport large amounts of electricity from generating plants to substations, which can distribute power to individual customers.
The PSC is projecting that it won’t be until tomorrow morning when the winds to the point that utility crews can safely work on the line.
Cook said the regulated utility companies cannot, at this time, predict how long power will be out. A full assessment of damage cannot take place until the storm passes, he said.
Repair crews will not be dispatched until sustained winds drop below 30 to 35 miles per hour, he said. “That could tomorrow morning,†he said.
Sheila Pounder, of Entergy, reminds customers to be patient while waiting for utilities to be restored. Pounder said about 600,000 Entergy customers are impacted.
Entergy Gulf States Louisiana L.L.C., which serves most of Baton Rouge, is approaching 68,000 customers without power, she said.
Utility companies from 23 states will be sending about 10,000 workers to help restore power, Pounder said.
She said after the storm clears, Entergy will conduct an assessment of the outages to provide the most efficient restoration plan.
“It’s the most aggravating time for customers, because they want to see those lights come in,†she said. “But a good assessment is paramount to good restoration.â€
The assessment could take a couple days, she said. Local crews will begin doing some restorations as soon as possible while the the more widespread plan is organized.
Pounder said it’s difficult to say how long power could be out in some areas, but said that people should be prepared to wait several days.
DEMCO reports that 51,893 – or 48 percent -- of its 100,277 members are without power. In East Baton Rouge Parish, the cooperative shows that 41 percent – or 13,339 the utility’s 32,156 members are without power. DEMCO services neighborhoods in Zachary, Baker, Central, Monticello and parts of Shenandoah.
The cooperative will call on over 700 additional servicemen to be a part of the restoration effort.
As of 3 p.m., CLECO reported that 60,837 of its customers were without power. CLECO reported the following outages: 3,767 in St. Mary; seven in Acadia; four in Evangeline; 3,707 in Iberia Parish; 45 in St. Landry; and six in St. Martin.
