PINEVILLE, La. – Sept. 4, 2020 – As of noon today, Cleco had restored power to roughly 118,598, or 85 percent, of the 140,000 customers affected by Hurricane Laura. 

“From day one, our customers have been patient with and kind to our Cleco and contractor crews,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management.  “While we appreciate our customers’ support and generosity, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our workers are unable to accept outside food or drink donations delivered to our staging sites.  Cleco has designated caterers and staff who are following protocols to safely support our crews during our restoration efforts.”

The company’s staging sites are where Cleco and contractor crews sleep or where transportation to lodging accommodations is provided, where meals are served, drinks are provided and where crews can access supplies or materials needed to support restoration efforts.

“The health and safety of our crews is our priority and plays a key role in how quickly we are able to complete power restoration,” said Lass. 

Customers can safely support crews by:

• Yielding and giving crews the right-of-way when you see them driving
• Sending thank you videos and messages of encouragement on Facebook @ClecoPower
• Not stopping crews to ask when they will be finished working
• Practicing social distancing and avoiding work zones
• Making sure your main breaker is off when operating your generator so that electricity isn’t back feeding to crews working in your area
• Waiting until crews arrive before trying to remove tree limbs from power lines

Below are customer outages by parish as of noon:

Percentages are based on total customers affected by Hurricane Laura; not Cleco’s total customer base.