Update: Storm team arrives in Louisiana; begins restoration work
Mississippi Power storm team members hold a Safety briefing Monday morning.
Mississippi Power crews work near Jennings, La., in the Hurricane Laura restoration effort.
Mississippi Power crews work near Jennings, La., in the Hurricane Laura restoration effort.
Monday morning update: Mississippi Power storm crews worked safely through the weekend in Jennings, La., and the surrounding area to restore power to homes and businesses. Mississippi Power is currently working to repair four feeders that service approximately 3,000 customers.
Coast and Meridian teams moved to Lake Arthur on Sunday to restore power to approximately 1,000 customers and worked after dark to restore several additional individual services.
The Hattiesburg and Laurel teams both worked in Welsh, La., and were able to energize an important gas station in the area as well as approximately 60 residences.
Storm teams have worked to replace and repair more than 40 broken poles and cross arms and climbed inaccessible poles. The teams will continue their work in these areas through Monday and may move west into the Lake Charles area later in the week.
As of 8 a.m. Monday morning, more than 300,000 Louisiana residents are without power according to poweroutage.us.
A utility pole was bent in half near Jennings, La., during Hurricane Laura.
Friday evening update: Mississippi Power’s storm team of approximately 85 linemen and support personnel safely arrived in Jennings, La., Friday afternoon.
Crews from Bay St. Louis, Gulfport and Wiggins arrived first, and after a Safety briefing, began working to restore electric service in Jennings.
As of 7 p.m. Friday night, more than 473,000 Louisiana residents are without power, according to poweroutage.us.
Mississippi Power’s storm team departs the Hattiesburg Service Center to take part in the Hurricane Laura restoration effort.
Friday morning: Mississippi Power’s storm team of more than 80 linemen, engineers, and support personnel departed from service centers across the company’s territory Friday morning to join the restoration efforts in Louisiana following the devastating landfall of Hurricane Laura.
The team will travel to Jennings, La., located 30 miles east of Lake Charles. Local news reports indicate widespread power outages, downed trees and other structural damage.
“Almost 15 years ago to the day, we were in this situation and put out the call for assistance following Hurricane Katrina,” Shared Services Manager Scott Cashwell said. “Another major hurricane has caused tremendous damage along the Gulf Coast, and our storm-tested team is ready to go to work for the people impacted by Hurricane Laura.”
According to www.poweroutage.us, more than 500,000 Louisiana residents were without electric service Friday morning.
Already this year, Mississippi Power crews have travelled to Georgia, Philadelphia and New York to assist utilities in restoration efforts following natural disasters.
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for nearly 190,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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