Entergy Texas Restores Power to 73% of Customers Following Hurricane Delta
BEAUMONT, Texas –Entergy Texas, Inc. crews have made significant progress following Hurricane Delta’s destructive winds and rains affected Southeast Texas. Since Delta made landfall on Oct. 9, Entergy Texas has restored 79,000 customers from a peak of more than 108,000.
Currently, there are approximately 29,000 customers without power, primarily in the Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange areas. Delta made landfall as a Category 2 storm Friday evening near Creole, Louisiana, with winds more than 80 mph. Delta comes on the heels of Hurricane Laura which, made landfall only six weeks prior.
“We understand how hard it is for so many to be affected by Hurricanes Delta and Laura so close together,” said Sallie Rainer, president and CEO of Entergy Texas. “I want to assure you that we are committed to helping our communities get back online following the damage from Hurricane Delta. We have brought in thousands of workers who are working as quickly as safely possible.”
Entergy Texas expects most customers to be restored by Wednesday, Oct. 14. Some customers in the hardest-hit areas may take until Friday, Oct. 16. The company currently has a storm team of more than 2,000 workers across Jefferson and Orange counties working to restore service.
Hurricane Delta’s strong winds caused significant damage across the Entergy Texas area. Crews have found 275 downed distribution poles, 59 blown transformers and approximately 110,750 feet of downed wire.
As crews narrowed in on the hardest-hit areas this afternoon, they began handling many smaller cases that restored power to fewer customers at a time. In some cases, repairs could not begin until large trees were cut and removed from downed powerlines. Additionally, in some hard-to-access locations, crews had to climb poles rather than use bucket trucks or bring in specialized equipment like rear-alley machines to repair damage in customers’ backyards.
Crews continue to practice social distancing, and Entergy asks that customers do the same. For the safety of crews and all those involved, please stay away from work zones.