Texas – As a winter storm moves into the area, Entergy is urging customers to be prepared and reassuring them that crews are ready.
Kenny Muhammad, Entergy’s Region Manager for Customer Service, says there are plenty of ways to stay informed
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Crews on standby
Muhammad says Entergy is definitely ready and has a plan in place. “We are fully staffed up. Our personnel’s are in place. We have over 700 resources available, ready and standing by to respond when necessary.”
No disconnects for customers
If you’re behind on your Entergy bill, there’s some relief during the freeze. Entergy has suspended all disconnects for non-payment through the rest of this week and will revisit the situation on Monday, January 25.
Muhammad reassures customers, “If we need to extend that then we will, but currently all suspensions for non-pay have been discontinued.”
Plan ahead
Even though Entergy is prepared, Kenny Muhammad reminds customers to make their own plans for the freeze. He emphasizes being ready and having things in place at home. Here are some tips from our previous coverage:
Ice can cause outages
A little ice can cause problems, but more can lead to widespread outages. Muhammad explains, “Anything from eighth of an inch to quarter of an inch can cause isolated outages. But then when you start to get up around three quarters of an edge to a full inch of accumulation on a line or on trees, then you can see widespread outages just simply from the weight of the ice accumulation.”
He continues, “It can cause tree limbs, branches to break and fall, fall into the lines. But it can also cause our cross arms and or the poles to break themselves. The sheer weight of the ice accumulation on the line is a real risk.”
Restoration takes time
If power goes out, it won’t be instant. Muhammad explains: “We cannot really begin our restoration and assessment until it’s safe to do so… Safety is our first priority. And then right after that, it’s restoration of the services.
He adds that getting power back on is a methodical process. “once it started to heat up, then we’ll go ahead and begin to bring on additional customers and the rest of the feeder.”
Muhammad emphasizes that this careful approach prevents further damage. “(This) just prevents us from causing additional damage to our grid, which then further exacerbates the damage and the extension of the outage.”
As the storm moves in, Houstonians are bracing for icy conditions and possible outages but knowing what to expect can make the difference in staying safe and comfortable.