AMITE, La (BRPROUD) – It’s been 17 days since Hurricane Ida and DEMCO energy customers are dealing with heat and rain until their power returns.
More than 60 percent of customers in Tangipahoa Parish are without power as of Wednesday.
“Ida was worse than Katrina,” said Delores Grumfield, Tangipahoa Parish resident said.
DEMCO’s David Latona says Hurricane Ida left 95 percent of their meters without power. As of Wednesday, 50 percent are restored.
“The transmission infrastructure was devastated throughout our system,” said Latona.
Grumfield lives in west Amite in Tangipahoa Parish. The parish only has about 36 percent of power restored.
“We’re making progress there. And that repair is just like the others, it is every pole leading to that system from the transmission and from substation. Every pole had damage, every pole had to be touched,” said Latona.
In Grumfield’s neighborhood, the power lines are still on the ground. She’s making it through the heat by getting ice in another town 30 minutes away.
“It was [a] lot of damage. Trees, poles, lines are down it’s just it was horrible,” she said. “It just wasn’t real.”
Grumfield road out the storm alone in her home. Through it all, she is remaining positive.
“I thank God he saved me through this storm,” she said.
According to DEMCO, all substations are restored. Starting Wednesday, crews are focusing on localized outages including Tangipahoa Parish.
DEMCO customers can check power outages here.