Cleco restores power to over half of customers

PINEVILLE, La. – Aug. 31, 2020 (6 p.m. update) – As of 6 p.m. today, Cleco and contractor crews have restored power to over 87,000, or 62 percent, of the 140,000 customers affected by Hurricane Laura. 

“We’re getting there, and we want our customers to know we appreciate their understanding and patience,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management.  “We always focus our efforts on critical infrastructure such as water and sewage systems, hospitals and medical facilities, and then move to the circuits with the largest number of customers until everyone who can receive power has it.” 

Below are restoration updates on impacted parishes.  Cleco will report updates on areas as they become available.  For the most up-to-date information, follow the company on Facebook @ClecoPower and visit Cleco’s website at cleco.com.

Grant and Rapides parishes

• Cleco currently has nearly 1,300 workers from the total workforce in these two parishes making repairs and restoring power.  To date, Cleco has restored power to 15,200 customers across these two parishes.
• Alexandria: Approximately 2,700 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to roughly 500 customers today, leaving around 2,200 customers without power overnight. 
• Deville, Buckeye and Holloway: Approximately 1,590 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to roughly 390 customers today, leaving 1,200 customers without power overnight. 
• Pineville, Esler Field, Kingsville, Kolin, Ruby and Paradise: Approximately 12,850 customers are without power. Crews are working to restore power to 2,850 customers today, leaving 10,000 customers without power overnight. 
• Gardner, Boyce and Hot Wells: Approximately 2,754 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 254 customers by end of day today, leaving 2,500 customers without power overnight
• Flatwoods, Mora, Pine Coupee: Approximately 350 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 50 customers by end of day today, leaving 300 customers without power overnight. 
• Martco, Lena, Sharp and Taylor Hill: Approximately 520 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 20 customers by end of day today, leaving 500 customers without power overnight.
• Otis, Hineston and Elmer: Approximately 1,500 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 100 of these customers by end of day today, leaving 1,400 customers without power overnight. 
• Bentley, Colfax and Dry Prong: Approximately 3,800 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 300 of these customers by end of day today, leaving 3,500 customers without power overnight
• Pollock: Approximately 2,600 customers are without power.  Crews are working to restore power to 200 of these customers by end of day today, leaving 2,400 customers without power overnight.  
• Forest Hill: Crews are working but due to extensive damage, restoration in this area will be a multiday event. 
• Glenmora: Additional resources arrived in Glenmora today.  As such, restoration is expected to take three to four days instead of five to seven days, as projected yesterday.
   

DeSoto, Natchitoches, Red River and Sabine parishes

• Campti: Power was not restored last night as planned.  Crews continue to work in this town and expect to have power restored today.
• Clarence:  Crews are working and expect most customers in this town to have power by tonight. 
• Pelican: Town has significant damage.  Crews are working to restore power today.
• Converse, Lake Area:  Town has significant damage.  Crews are working and expect to restore power to some customers today, but not all.  Work will continue until all customers have power.
• Toledo Town: Crews are making good progress and expect a few customers in this town to have power today.

Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu and Vernon parishes

• Rosepine, Leesville, DeRidder and Dequincy:  These areas are heavily damaged.  Crews are working and additional resources are being allocated.  While crews will be working from daylight until dark, this could be a multiweek restoration project.  
• Oakdale: Power to critical infrastructure has been restored, including the Federal Detention Center, hospital and nursing home.  Power also has been restored to some residential and business customers, but this could be a multiweek restoration project.  
• Kinder: Crews are working and making progress, but there is a lot of damage.  This could be a multiweek restoration project. 
• Elizabeth: Cleco secured additional resources today and will be sending these resources to assist with restoration efforts which is expected to take three to five days.

Oberlin: All customers who can receive power have it.

Acadia, Avoyelles, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes

• Crews are working to restore power to the remaining 25 customers in Ville Platte, Crowley and Eunice.  Power may be restored to all 25 customers today, but crews will work until all customer have power. 

• As power to customers in these parishes is restored, crews are being moved to other impacted Cleco areas. 
   

Below are customer outages by parish as of 6 p.m.
Acadia – 10

Allen – 4,832

Avoyelles – 932

Beauregard – 5,122

Calcasieu – 2,461

Catahoula - 18

Desoto – 467

Evangeline – 571

Grant – 6,000

Iberia – 9

Jefferson Davis - 39

Lasalle - 15

Natchitoches - 583

Rapides – 22,910
Red River – 24

Sabine – 3,066

St. Landry – 33

Vernon – 5,685