Entergy Corporation : Extreme Cold Calls for Different Power Restoration Process;

Customers are Brought Online One Section at a Time to Prevent Overloaded Lines

Beaumont, Texas - The deepfreeze conditions plaguing Southeast Texas has brought isolated power outages our way over the last couple of days. But whether an outage is caused directly by the temperatures or something else, restoration becomes more complex because of the different way customers are restored once any needed repairs are made.

"We use a methodical and calculated process in bringing customers back online after an outage in very cold weather like we're having," explained Vernon Pierce, customer service vice president, Entergy Texas, Inc. "While we have had some outages that were specifically weather-related, what our customers may notice is that if an outage occurs, regardless of the cause, restoration follows a different process.

"Rather than simply energizing an entire power line all at once, we are forced to bring customers back online one section at a time to avoid damage to our system and make the situation worse."

The reason for the different process involves how much power-or load-is being used. During temperature extremes, hot or cold, customers tend to use a lot of electricity, either keeping the heat on or air conditions running.

When an outage occurs, restoring all the customers on a given feeder has the potential to create large instantaneous load. And that load could be higher than the built-in protective devices on a line can handle, meaning equipment could trip offline or cause more damage.

"We have devices in place that are designed to protect our system during normal load," Pierce said. "But during weather extremes, we must change our processes to make sure we protect our system and also do the right thing by our customers. That means restoring power in a way that best ensures reliability for them."

Pierce reminds customers that information is available from Entergy online, particularly the View Outages program that shows where power is out and provides information about anticipated restoration times. Customers may also sign up for text messaging from Entergy to keep them up to date on outages that occur at their home or business. Information on these programs and more is available through entergytexas.com.

Entergy Texas, Inc. delivers electricity to more than 420,000 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 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.