With the landfall of an upgraded Hurricane Francine just hours away, Entergy now is making preparations in Louisiana and Mississippi, where the storm is expected to hit later today as a Category 2 hurricane.
After landfall, the center of the hurricane is expected tonight and Thursday morning to move northward into Mississippi, according to the National Hurricane Center, which reports there is a danger of life-threatening storm surge today for the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines. The storm is also expected to bring dangerous storm surge and strong winds to Texas, according to national hurricane reports.
“It’s time to focus on staying safe as we finalize our plans to restore service in the storm’s aftermath,” according to a statement released earlier today by Entergy, which added that on average, 70 percent of customers have power restored in four to seven days following the onslaught of a Category 2 hurricane, though some of the hardest hit areas could take up to 10 days for power to be restored.
“All storms are unique and often bring additional complexities in the restoration process that could extend restoration times, such as access difficulty that requires special equipment, working in marshland or repairing lines over bodies of water,” Entergy said.
At the same time, more than 10,000 workers from at least 13 states are being strategically prepositioned to respond to any power outages when and where they can, provided it is safe to do so, according to the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies.
“Customers in Hurricane Francine’s path are urged to heed all local safety and evacuation warnings,” EEI said today.
The National Hurricane Center said Francine is expected to bring heavy rainfall and the risk of considerable flash and urban flooding, along with river flooding, across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night.
Flash and urban flooding is also probably across the Lower Tennessee Valley and Lower Mississippi Valley tonight into Friday morning, the center reported.
In Mississippi, Entergy said it is utilizing its proven plan of continuous preparation, planning, and training. “As severe weather threatens, we monitor, mobilize, and act,” the company said. “We stand storm ready.”
For example, in addition to its normal workforce, Entergy has acquired about 5,300 restoration workers ready to restore service for customers whose power may be affected by Francine. And as resources continue to be requested, the company expects to acquire up to roughly 6,400 additional resources based on Francine’s current forecast. Total restoration field workforce includes company employees, contractors and mutual aid resources numbering approximately 1,800 in Mississippi, 5,700 in Louisiana, and 360 in New Orleans, Entergy said today.
“Our goal is to ensure we have the right resources in place to restore power efficiently and, above all, safely,” Steven Benyard, vice president of reliability for Entergy in Louisiana, said yesterday.
Entergy’s Louisiana utilities are staging equipment and materials and assembling a storm team of thousands to respond to Francine, the company said.
“Customers can rest assured that we are prepared to respond swiftly once it’s safe to begin restoration,” Benyard added, noting that the effects of last year’s drought and other environmental factors on vegetation prompted Entergy’s Louisiana utilities to make a significant allocation for tree trimmers.
For instance, of the 5,000 anticipated resources, roughly 1,400 will be tree trimmers tasked with removing vegetation to allow lineworkers to safely repair and work on electric equipment. This allocation is double the number of tree trimmers used for previous storms, such as hurricanes Isidore and Lili, said Entergy.
The number of resources may change as more weather-related data becomes available and the company’s models provide updated damage predictions.
In addition to making staffing decisions, Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Louisiana are completing pre-storm checklists at service centers across the state to ensure readiness, and patrolling distribution and transmission power lines and addressing any identified issues.
The utilities are also securing specialized equipment like track machines and backyard units that may be needed, setting up staging sites, and preparing to receive and integrate both local and out-of-state crews into the Louisiana storm response team.
Most of the rain from Francine is still offshore, said NWS, but some bands have already wrapped into parts of south Texas and the northern Gulf Coast, with some flooding issues at known trouble spots having been reported in Cameron County, Texas, where several locations have already picked up seven to eight inches of rain.
Some minor coastal flooding was reported again overnight Monday night into Tuesday morning along parts of the south Texas coast, NWS said today.
Entergy Texas continues to closely monitor Francine’s progress in the Gulf of Mexico and is also making the necessary preparations ahead of the storm’s landfall.
Entergy Texas crews are prepared to safely turn the lights back on as quickly as possible if needed, the company said.
“Our top priority remains the safety of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve,” said Entergy Texas President and CEO Eliecer Viamontes on Tuesday. “We’ve requested additional resources to help ensure we can respond quickly and efficiently to any potential impacts within our service area.”
As Francine moves closer to the Gulf Coast, Viamontes encourages all of the utilities’ customers to finalize their emergency plans and “stay informed through various Entergy channels.”
Entergy Texas has about 1,200 storm workers ready to respond, including line workers, vegetation crews, damage assessors, and additional field management teams. The company also requested nearly 800 additional workers from throughout the region to assist with restoration.
Special equipment, such as a marsh digger, high-water vehicles, airboats, and helicopters, also have been requested to help safely expedite the restoration process, said Viamontes.
The post As Francine barrels closer, Entergy ‘is storm ready’ appeared first on Daily Energy Insider .
Local News
Comments / 0