PINEVILLE, La. – Tonight, Cleco expects to restore power to 96 percent of the 10,000 customers in Rapides and Grant parishes who experienced outages following tornados and strong winds that ripped through the area on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

“Crews began preparing before the storms hit the area and have been working around the clock ever since,” said James Lass, general manager of distribution operations and emergency management.  “While our crews are making progress, some customers in the Louisiana College and Camp Beauregard areas will remain without power through the night.”

Currently, 800 customers in Rapides and Grant parishes are without power.  Cleco expects to restore power to half of those customers tonight and anticipates the remaining 400 customers will be restored by tomorrow.

“In addition to broken cross arms and poles, downed wire and damaged transformers, our crews are still clearing debris and encountering inaccessible or impassable roads,” said Lass.  “This makes our restoration efforts more challenging and can slow down our progress.”  

Cleco customers with medical needs and small children are encouraged to make arrangements for tonight. 

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as crews work into the weekend to safely and efficiently restore power,” said Lass.