The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Now that Isaac has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm and has decided to move on, power restoration can safely begin and Entergy Texas is ready to send more than 240 workers east to help get the lights back on in Louisiana.

The company has identified some 244 company and contract personnel who will be part of a workforce of more than 10,000 workers from 24 states. The Entergy Texas contingent will include 102 company and contract tool workers, 24 scouts, 17 support personnel and 101 contract tree-trimmers.

Entergy Texas is closely monitoring the slow-moving storm and will release crews to assist in restoration once it is determined the storm track will not turn more westerly and possibly impact Southeast Texas. Hurricane Isaac made landfall Tuesday evening and as of 11:30 a.m. more than 530,000 customers were without power.

“Safety is our number one priority in any restoration work,” explained Sallie Rainer, president and chief executive officer, Entergy Texas, Inc. “Once the storm has passed and conditions are determined to be safe for work to begin, we will dispatch the Texas contingent to staging areas where they will receive their work assignments.”

Rainer also said once crews are sent to assist in restoration, sufficient numbers of personnel would remain in place in Texas to handle any contingencies that may arise.

Entergy Texas provides electricity to more than 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megwatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.