Entergy crews to help restore power in the Northeast after Sandy passes

Published Oct 30, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Oct 30, 2012)

Looking to return the favor from Hurricane Isaac, Entergy Corp. has dispatched more than 850 utility workers to help restore power in areas expected to be affected by Hurricane Sandy, The Times-Picayune reports. Though winds will have to die down before the restoration process can start, the New Orleans utility giant has sent 308 people from Louisiana, including linemen and support staff, to the northeastern coast in anticipation of widespread outages caused by the storm. The remaining 542 workers are from Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. The majority of the Louisiana utility workers will assist Philadelphia-based PECO, Entergy spokesman Michael Burns says. Nearly 13,000 line workers and contractors were involved in Entergy's restoration process across Louisiana in the wake of Isaac, which left three-quarters of a million electricity customers in the dark, most for several days at least. The additional help came from 25 states and was almost four times the number of workers devoted to daily operations. Entergy is a member of several utility mutual assistance groups that send workers to other power companies across the country to help restore power during inclement weather. Pineville-based Cleco Power, which serves customers on the Northshore, has also sent 26 workers to help Baltimore Gas and Electric, the largest gas and electric utility in Maryland.