Power restoration continues across the ArkLaTex; full restoration still days away - KTBS
Power restoration continues across the ArkLaTex; full restoration still days away | Weather Headlines | ktbs.com
SHREVEPORT, La. - Efforts continue around the clock to get the power restored to tens of thousands of SWEPCO customers following last Friday's severe weather. Friday's storms, which included a confirmed EF-1 tornado as well as hurricane-level straight line winds, delivered a punch to both the transmission and distribution stations. More severe weather barreled through the region on Sunday and knocked out additional service. To make matters worse, another heat advisory will be in effect Monday, according to the National Weather Service-Shreveport.
At 8 a.m. Monday, more than 131,000 customers were still without service. That's a lot, but it is down significantly from the more than 230,000 on Friday.
According to SWEPCO’s website, most of the outages are in Caddo and Bossier parishes and Harrison and Gregg counties in east Texas.
- Caddo - 45,703
- Bossier - 21,131
- Harrison Co. - 12,706
- Gregg Co. - 21,173
CLICK HERE TO SEE SWEPCO'S LATEST UPDATE
Crews are assessing the damage. When they are finished, SWEPCO will have an idea about when power will be restored.
There are priority power situations like hospitals, nursing homes and sewer lift stations.
“It looks to be as one of largest storms that have caused the largest amount of outages that we’ve had recently," said spokeswoman Shantell Jordan.
The restaurants that are open are busy. This includes the ones on East Kings Highway. Starbucks, Sonic, the Tiki Bar and Taco Bell.
Due to the power of the storm, SWEPCO has activated an all-in response.
Through mutual assistance, additional crews were called upon to aid in the effort to help. As a result, nearly 3,000 utility professionals have now joined forces to tackle the work and rebuild communities across northwest Louisiana, east Texas and the western communities in Arkansas following the continued onslaught of extreme weather.
Reports show the early morning storms delivered howling winds that included peak wind gusts that snapped trees and downed lines. As a result of the wide-spread damage, the restoration and recovery effort will take time and officials report that could span many days. Crews continue to assess damage to identify the extent of the severe weather impacts, equipment repairs and time needed to safely restore power.
Peak wind gusts were reported as follows:
- 9 miles south of Barksdale Air Force Base, 80 mph
- Shreveport Regional Airport, 70 mph
- Mount Pleasant Regional Airport, 69 mph
- Shreveport Downtown Airport, 66 mph
- 13 miles east northeast of Carthage, Texas, 58 mph
Click here to connect with SWEPCO and see a real-time map of outages in the area.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.