It's the question everyone wants answered, but the experts don't yet have an answer for it: when will the power be back?
Entergy New Orleans President and CEO Deanna Rodriguez couldn't give an estimate during today's news conference with the city of New Orleans. But she could provide some information.
4,500 personnel are in the New Orleans area assessing the damage Hurricane Ida did to the power grid. Perhaps the singular most spectacular incident was the collapse of a tower that hoisted eight high-voltage transmission lines across the Mississippi River, from Avondale to Elmwood. All eight lines went crashing into the river.
That incident plunged nearly all of New Orleans and Jefferson into darkness. Entergy officials say they are working to see if power can be brought in via other routes.
There is also extensive damage to distribution lines in parts of the area. Entergy has deployed helicopters and even drones to get a bird's-eye view of their assets.
Additionally, there are 21,000 more crews ready to start making repairs, once the company has a handle on what needs to be fixed.
Entergy Louisiana reports 816,297 customers without power.