Pineville, La. – Tropical Storm Harvey is expected to make landfall south of Lake Charles on Wednesday morning and exit the northeast corner of Louisiana by Thursday night.  This projection puts five of Cleco’s operating regions in the path of the storm.  In preparation of possible weather related outages, Cleco has all of its crews and 28 contractor crews ready to respond. 

“We are doubling the number of crews available to safely restore power to our customers as quickly as possible once conditions permit,” said James Lass, general manager of distribution operations and emergency management.  “While we do not expect Harvey to strengthen, we do anticipate heavy rainfall across Cleco’s service territory which could cause flooding in some areas.  Plus, additional rain on already saturated ground can weaken trees, causing limbs to break or trees to uproot and potentially damage our electrical system.” 

Cleco reminds customers to exercise caution before, during and after the storm.  

• Prepare a storm kit – gather supplies you might need for an outage, including flashlight, batteries, canned food, manual can opener, bottled water, medication and a first aid kit.
• Put all important documents in a waterproof container.
• Plan ahead for the special or medical needs of family members.
• Charge cell phones, tablets and laptops.
• Do not connect portable generators to your home’s electrical wiring and never operate in an enclosed space like a garage.
• If water is getting close to your home or business, turn off individual breakers and then turn off the electricity at the main breaker. 
• Stay away from downed power lines and flooded areas.  Remember that downed lines can be hidden under fallen tree limbs and debris. 
• Remember to call 911 or Cleco at 1-800-622-6537 to report an unsafe situation involving electricity.

For storm preparation and safety tips, as well as up-to-the-minute outage information and restoration efforts, visit Cleco’s Storm Center website www.cleco.com/storm-center.