1,000 Additional Restoration Workers to Arrive Wednesday Evening
Little Rock, Ark. – Entergy Arkansas
is monitoring the progress of two rounds of winter weather. While the weather
conditions remain dynamic, Entergy Arkansas teams are fully engaged in preparing
for the possibility of a significant ice storm in the north and central regions
of the state, and thunderstorms in the south, could affect all or parts of
Entergy’s service territory Wednesday evening into Thursday.
Nearly 1,000 additional restoration
workers, including line, vegetation and scout personnel, have been secured to
join the expected power restoration effort and will be in the state by Wednesday
evening. Entergy storm teams are currently working to secure additional linemen
and vegetation workers.
“We understand what an inconvenience
it is to be without electricity, and we will be doing everything in our power to
get it back on,” said Brady Aldy, transmission and distribution operations
director for Entergy Arkansas, Inc. “We will have more crews in the field, and
will provide frequent status reports to make sure customers are well informed.”
In addition to securing additional
resources, Entergy Arkansas crews arrived early Wednesday morning to service
centers across the state packed and ready to relocate by Wednesday evening, if
necessary. Preparing for a storm is an essential duty of all Entergy Arkansas
employees. Some serve on logistics teams to prepare for out-of-state crews.
Others have been double-checking stocks of materials and reviewing circuit maps.
All crews are prepared to work long
hours after the storm passes to restore service to customers as quickly and as
safely as possible.
In the hours remaining before
conditions deteriorate, Entergy urges customers to prepare for the possibility
of extended power outages by gathering flashlights with fresh batteries, a
supply of water for several days, a first aid kit, canned food and a
non-electric can opener. Having necessary medications in hand and a plan for
pets are also recommended measures.
Entergy reminds customers, who have
not already done so, to download the
Entergy app for their smartphones. Storm-preparedness tips and online
services are available to customers through “Entergy
Storm Center.” Customers can also sign up to send and receive text
information about power outages through their cellphones. To use the service,
register a cellphone number by texting the message REG to 368374. The system
will respond and ask for an Entergy account number and ZIP code.
“Most importantly, we encourage our
customers to include safety in their preparations. Whether it’s spotting a
downed wire or other potential hazard after the storm has cleared, be sure to
make safety a key ingredient in your storm planning,” said Oscar Washington,
director of customer service for Entergy Arkansas, Inc. “Call 1-800-9OUTAGE if
you see a safety hazard, or fill out the convenient
Safety Hazard tab on
our Facebook page.”
Entergy Arkansas, which celebrates
its 100th birthday this year, provides electricity to approximately 700,000
customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy
Corporation, an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power
production and retail distribution operations. Entergy Corporation’s utilities
own and operate power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric
generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power,
making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators. The Entergy utilities
deliver electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Texas. Entergy Corporation has annual revenues of more than $10
billion and approximately 15,000 employees.
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entergyarkansas.com
Twitter: @EntergyARK
Facebook.com/EntergyARK
