PINEVILLE, La. – June 1, 2020 – The Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season officially starts today, June 1, and Cleco is reminding customers to prepare now.  The season ends Nov. 30.

“We’re asking our customers to prepare now and to be mindful of the COVID-19 pandemic when developing their plan,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management.  “Because we’re still in a global pandemic, we’ve had to put COVID-19 protocols in place to protect the health and well-being of our crews, contractors and customers in the event we have one or more hurricanes during the pandemic.”

For the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, meteorologists are predicting above-normal activity with an above-average probability that major hurricanes will make landfall along the continental United States.

“Some of the COVID-19 protocols we’ve put in place include securing more staging areas for our supplies and hotels for lodging and making sure we have enough face coverings for all our workers,” said Lass.  “The public can help us maintain social distancing during power restoration by not approaching workers in the field or entering Cleco work zones.”

Below are steps customers can take to prepare for the 2020 hurricane season:

• Make a list of important phone numbers.
• Put all important documents in a waterproof container.
• Plan an evacuation route and ensure family members are aware of the route. 
• Know where emergency shelters are located.
• Listen to local weather reports on the radio, television and Internet.
• Prepare a storm kit – gather supplies you might need during a power outage, including flashlights, batteries, canned food, manual can opener, bottled water, medication and a first aid kit.
• Plan ahead for medical or special needs, including your pets.
• Make provisions for a generator, if needed, and test the generator to ensure it works.

More storm preparedness tips can be found online at www.cleco.com and by following Cleco on Facebook at @ClecoPower.

Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC is a regional energy holding company that conducts its business operations through its subsidiaries, Cleco Power LLC and Cleco Cajun LLC. Cleco Power is a regulated electric public utility company that owns 10 generating assets with a total nameplate capacity of 3,360 MWs and serves approximately 288,000 customers in Louisiana through its retail business and supplies wholesale power in Louisiana and Mississippi.  Cleco Cajun is an unregulated utility company that owns eight generating assets with a total nameplate capacity of 3,555 MWs, with contracts serving nine Louisiana cooperatives, three wholesale municipal customers and one electric utility.  For more information about Cleco, visit us at www.cleco.com.