Power Restoration Updates

Here's what we have so far from Acadiana power companies on restoration efforts.

We'll update this information as we receive updates.

LUS AND LUS FIBER

5/14/24 10:00 pm Update - Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) has restored over 96 percent of the 7,500 outages with just under 250 remaining. The City of Winnfield, the City of Alexandria, and the City of Houma for assisted in restoring power to areas affected by yesterday's storm.

LCG is requesting the public remain at a safe distance from any LCG personnel working on the restoration to ensure a safe working environment. If you experience a power outage, please call (337) 291-9200, and for downed power lines or other electrical/water issues, please call (337) 291-5700.

5/14/24 10:30 am Update - Lafayette Consolidated Government and Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) and contract crews as well as mutual aid crews have worked through the night in restoration efforts.

LUS has restored over 70 percent of the 7,500 outages with only 1,900 remaining. Crews will continue the restoration efforts that have been delayed due to fallen trees and broken poles. We appreciate your patience as there will be a substantial effort to restore the remaining outages.

There have been reports of traffic lights that are out due to remaining power outages. Please treat these intersections as four-way stops. As per the Lafayette Police Department, there are no road closures at this time.

LUS Fiber has restored over 70 percent of its outages with only 1,116 remaining.

LCG is requesting the public remain at a safe distance from any LCG personnel working on the restoration to ensure a safe working environment.

Slemco
5/14/24 10:30 am Update - Flying debris caused by high winds was the overall cause of many of last night's outages. Because of this, we need your help now that it's daylight. If you see damage like the trampoline in this photo, or wires across a vehicle, road, house etc - please call 337-896-5551 and provide details that we can include for line crews. You can also report details in SmartHub.

Remember, as we move from large scale damage that affect hundreds of customers, to more localized or individual outages, the going will be slower. Current issues we are working on that involve large numbers of customers out of power are:

St. Martin Parish -

Single vehicle accident involving a pole and power line on Deanna Lane off of Duchamp. This just happened this morning.

Atchafalaya River Road was heavily hit. Multiple poles and wire are continuing to be worked on this morning.

Cypress Island has poles and wire down that are being worked on.

Catahoula area has mostly smaller line sections left and individual outages from trees and debris. This will take longer to restore because they must be worked one by one.

Lafayette Parish -

Brothers Road - Pole down in a business that could not be accessed until this morning due to hazmat issues. Currently being worked on.

Duson/Ridge - Feeders back on but poles down. Crews are currently working on resetting poles and picking up wire.

Acadia Parish -

Church Point area - Poles and wire down near our Scanlan substation. Currently being worked on.

South of Rayne towards Kaplan - Multiple poles and wire down. Currently being worked on. Affects both Acadia and Vermilion Parishes.

Lyons Point - Poles and wires down from flying debris. Currently being worked on.

Vermilion Parish -

South of Rayne towards Kaplan - Multiple poles and wire down. Currently being worked on. Affects both Acadia and Vermilion Parishes.

Youngsville to Erath area - Wire down due to trees. Tree trimming crews are currently working in this area so overhead crews can make necessary repairs.

5/14/24 7:00 am - Update for Acadia parish from crews in the field: Lyons point area - still have several broken poles / wire down. Rayne area - Broken Poles needing attention and replacing.

St. Landry Parish - some individual outages spread throughout but nothing major. If you are out, we ask that you report it, again.

5/14/24 6:20 am update - From a peak of 43,000 customers out of power, we are down to 9,000. Crews worked through the night and will begin to stagger their return as they complete large jobs around 10 am, when fresh contractor crews begin rolling in to assist. Contract crews will be led to jobs by SLEMCO employees assigned as “bird dogs” to minimize delays in unfamiliar territory. More detailed assessments will be provided as additional information becomes clear in the daylight but for now the major damage is as follows:

- Heavy damage is still present in the Atchafalaya River Road (Butte Larose and north of I-10) and eastern St. Martin Parish area

- Vermilion Parish has some poles down but mostly wire down in several locations

- Poles down affecting both north and south of I-10 in the Duson (Fieldspan), East Rayne, Scott, Carencro/north Lafayette areas.

There are many individual outages, spread throughout the system, that are being worked after large tasks, which restore power to many locations at a time. Those individual locations will be slower going.

We will continue to update customers with information as it becomes available.

11:30 pm 5/13/24 - Working on extensive damage to a feeder on Vincent Road in Lafayette Parish. Lightning struck the tree according to residents. This outage is affecting both SLEMCO and LUS customers. Both companies are working together to get power restored. There are several hours of work left to go.

ENTERGY
Entergy Louisiana storm update – 5/14/24, 5 p.m.

As of 5 p.m., approximately 33,400 customers remain without power across Louisiana, down from a peak of approximately 92,700. While many customers will be restored sooner, crews anticipate restoring power to most customers who can safely receive service by late Thursday night. Below is a list of estimated times of restoration by parish .

Significant damages were reported in Calcasieu Parish, where there was likely tornadic activity, Plaquemine and West Baton Rouge Parish. There is extensive pole and wire damage in the Highway 411 corridor between Livonia and Grosse Tete as well as Southwest Plaquemine. Additionally, backyard equipment will be necessary for work in Lafayette, Zachary and Baton Rouge. Cases of extensive damage or deploying specialized equipment in hard-to-access locations will take longer.

A storm team of approximately 1,250 workers, which includes a combination of onsite resources and additional resources that have been requested and are on the way, will be engaged in restoration work. Some crews are coming from neighboring service territories in Texas and Arkansas. Meanwhile, damage assessments are progressing, and as of 11 a.m., crews found approximately 110 poles, 250 spans of wire, 30 transformers and 130 crossarms in need of repair or replacement.

While tree trimming will be required to remove vegetation from downed electric equipment before line work can begin in some areas, crews have been isolating damaged portions of the electric system and rerouting power to expedite restoration efforts where possible. This process is called field switching and has helped bring thousands of customers back online as was the case of a substation near Bluebonnet Boulevard and Jefferson Highway.

That substation went offline Monday night after a tree fell onto a transmission line and knocked it out of service. Overnight, crews were able to isolate portions of the power grid and flip circuit breakers, among other steps, to energize several power lines coming out of Nesser substation and restore thousands of customers near Westminster and Inniswold in East Baton Rouge Parish. This is just one example of the type of work that has been taking place from Baton Rouge to as far west as Vinton in Calcasieu Parish.

ESTIMATED TIMES OF RESTORATION BY PARISH

The times below describe when crews expect to have most customers who can safely accept electric service restored.

• Late Wednesday night, May 15 – Acadia, Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin (excluding Henderson) and Vermillion
• Late Thursday night, May 16 – Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana

Entergy Louisiana Storm Update - May 14, 2024, 7:30 a.m.Entergy crews and contractors are actively assessing damages and restoring power after an intense storm system swept across South Louisiana. In addition to reports of possible tornadic activity in Calcasieu Parish, the storm brought lightning and high winds exceeding 60 mph, resulting in power outages for approximately 92,700 customers at its peak.

Through overnight efforts, substantial progress has been made, with the number of customers without power reduced to about 49,600 by 7:30 a.m., accounting for nearly 46% of those affected. This progress was achieved through various measures, including field switching, which involves isolating damaged portions of the electric system and rerouting power to maximize restoration efforts before extensive field work is required.

The hardest-hit areas are concentrated along the Interstate 10 corridor, stretching from Vinton west of Lake Charles to East Baton Rouge. Early field reports indicate damage to trees, limbs, and power lines, with potential need for tree trimming to clear vegetation before lineworkers can safely begin repairs. Crews from less affected regions are being redeployed to assist in storm-impacted areas to expedite restoration efforts.

Efforts are underway to provide estimated restoration times as damage assessments progress and additional information is gathered.

As customers venture out to assess their surroundings, Entergy urges you to keep your distance from any downed electric equipment like power lines and report it to the company at 1-800-9OUTAGE (1-800-968-8243).

For those utilizing portable generators, please adhere to manufacturer guidelines to prevent safety hazards. Generators should not be used indoors or plugged directly into home wiring to avoid backfeed, which poses risks to utility workers and the public.

In cases where power has been restored to an area but not individual homes, damage assessment may reveal issues such as damage to the weatherhead, which requires repairs by a qualified electrician before Entergy can reconnect service.