Entergy crews had conducted a controlled detonation transmission lines attached to a transmission tower near the Mississippi River in Harahan, La. That was left standing after Hurricane Ida.
Crews took hours to set up the explosives, said a WWL-TV report. The tower’s counterpart on the West Bank in Louisiana was destroyed during the storm.
The downed transmission tower located in Bridge City served as “critical catalyst” in the area’s loss of electrical power, said WGNO. Nearly one million customers were left in the dark due to the outage.
WGNO said that power lines were impacting traffic on the river before Entergy detonated them and released lines connected to the still-standing East Bank tower.
Moving forward, reconnection is needed, said the outlet. As of Friday, Entergy had not announced plans to solve the issue.
“Options could include running the new lines across the bottom of the river or raising another tower on the West Bank,” said WGNO.
Entergy previously said it could take weeks for some customers to get their connections back. The company said Saturday that it is working to restore all connections.