Insights > Restoration Update

Restoration Update

04/14/2020

The recent storms knocked power out for 196,000 of our customers across the territory. At 7:45 a.m., we had 116,015 customers out of service in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi:

  • Arkansas, 91,860.
  • Louisiana, 5,680.
  • Mississippi, 18,475.

More information about current outages and restoration times is available on our View Outages map.

We’ve reached a point in recovering from last weekend’s storms that can be very frustrating for you. The storms have passed, yet power outages remain as we continue our restoration. We know you want to know when your power will be restored. We ask for your patience as we rebuild damaged infrastructure, including poles, wires, substations and major lines.

This is a major restoration effort. We have more than 4,400 workers from within our company and from contractors and our mutual assistance agreements with utilities restoring service for our customers. We continue assessing damage to our transmission system, but we know it has been extensively damaged. As of 7 a.m., damage assessments showed 44 Entergy owned substations and more than 1,000 miles of transmission lines out of service.

As we restore service, we will maintain our additional safety precautions adopted due to COVID-19 pandemic. Along with our standard storm preparations, we are taking additional steps to adjust crew staging locations to help team members maintain social distancing.

For their safety and yours, please stay away from their work zones. If you need to report a problem with your service or get bill payment help, we’re just a phone call away: 1-800-ENTERGY.

Arkansas has been hard hit, with more than 128,000 customer outages reported. The heaviest area of impact is south of Interstate I-40. The damage rivals the back-to-back ice storms in 2000. Damage assessment continues.

Most of the outages in Louisiana are occurring in the northern part of the state. Most customers who can safely take power should be restored by late today. Some customers in the hardest hit locations of Ouachita Parish could remain without power until Thursday.

Over 40,000 Mississippi customer outages were reported at yesterday’s peak, with most occurring north of a line from Yazoo City to Kosciusko. All customers should be restored later this week.

Assessment could take up to three days and could be affected by our ongoing COVID-19 response. Our scouts are assessing damage to determine the exact cause of your outage and how long it will take correct the problem. We'll be better prepared to give an estimated time to restore your power after we complete the full assessment.

If you don’t see us working near you, keep in mind that we may be working on another part of the electrical system that you can’t see but is needed to get power to you.

It can be frustrating for you if you see trucks move away from an area before power is restored. Our work, however, must take place in a certain order, determined by a restoration plan that considers how electricity flows to your neighborhood and prioritizes critical customers like hospitals. Trucks and workers will return to your area as soon as possible to complete the restoration work. 

Due to the additional efforts we must take due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant and widespread outages, restoration times may be extended.

View photos of damage here.


Corporate Editorial Team