Most of southeast Louisiana could be without power in the coming days as a result of Hurricane Ida, with power outages lasting a long time for the hardest hit areas, according to The Advocate.
Utility companies expect to restore the vast majority of the area quickly, the outlet said.
Entergy, which serves more than 1 million customers in Louisiana, and Cleco, which services about 300,000, are respond. However, they warned that some people may have to go days, or even weeks, without power.
Entergy recommended that customers finalize storm preparations and follow guidance of public officials in an advisory issued Saturday. The company said it expects to fix 90 percent of outages in no more than a few weeks, if it matches previous restoration times. It also said it plans to assemble a storm team of as many as 16,000 workers if needed.
Both equipment and crews have been cleared from Ida’s path, Entergy and Cleco said. Workers from the companies are expected to use high-water vehicles, rear-alley machines, marsh buggies, drones and helicopters after the storm subsides.
“Crews will not move back into the area to begin restoration until it is safe to do so,” Entergy officials said in a press release.
Ground crews can get to work first. Bucket trucks won’t be safe to use until winds calm to less than 30 mph, said The Advocate. Before anything gets fixed, Entergy said it will have to assess the storm. Critical infrastructure and more populated communities will be addressed first.
The company said its crews will follow pandemic safety rules and asked customers to do the same.
Entergy and Cleco both offer online services to help customers through the storm.
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