PINEVILLE, La. –The company has made significant progress in the first day of power restoration following Hurricane Isaac, As of 6 p.m. today, Cleco has restored power to 29 percent of the customers who lost power system-wide, and to 81 percent of customers in lesser affected areas.  Cleco continues to make progress in the hardest hit St. Tammany Parish where rain and flooding still persist.

“Once the weather subsided, we were able to begin assessing the damage and restoring power,” said James Lass, Cleco’s storm manager. “In most of the state, we are seeing minor damage such as broken cross arms and wires down from trees and limbs. With the extra crews we brought in to assist, we’ve been able to bring down our outage numbers substantially.”

The assessment and restoration process is going more slowly in St. Tammany Parish due to rainy weather conditions, severe flooding and tree damage. Cleco has 10 substations and other equipment either partially or completely flooded.  As Cleco crews finish their work in less affected locations, they are being redeployed to the hardest hit areas.

Cleco asks for customers’ patience as crews work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. To help ensure safety, we ask that customers avoid work areas and refrain from stopping the work of our crews.

Power Outage Update as of 6 p.m.

Acadia Parish – 138
Avoyelles Parish – 253
Evangeline Parish – 280
Grant Parish – 429
Iberia Parish – 814
LaSalle Parish – 8
Rapides Parish – 487
St. Landry Parish – 69
St. Martin Parish – 39
St. Mary Parish – 3,425
St. Tammany Parish – 60,430
Washington Parish – 768

TOTAL 67,140