Pineville, La., Oct. 28, 2020 (9 p.m.) – Hurricane Zeta is moving out of Louisiana leaving roughly 74 percent of Cleco customers in St. Tammany and Washington parishes without power. 

The company is reporting approximately 69,000 customers in St. Tammany Parish and 12 customers in Washington Parish are without power.

“The safety of our crews, contractors and customers is priority in everything we do,” said James Lass, director of distribution operations and emergency management.  “As soon as conditions are safe, we’ll begin surveying the damage by land and air and start restoring power as safely and quickly as possible.  As with any large restoration effort, the company’s focus is on responding to unsafe electrical situations and restoring emergency services followed by restoring power to the greatest number of customers.”

In addition to Cleco personnel, the company has over 500 contractors ready to restore power, including 28 distribution damage assessors, 233 distribution line mechanics, 223 distribution vegetation specialists and 50 transmission resources.  Cleco also has staged crews and secured resources such as fuel and specialized equipment like helicopters, haul trucks, dozers, drones and high-water vehicles in order to respond as soon as conditions are safe.

Safety tips to follow after a storm:

• Downed power line safety

  Downed power lines and areas of debris should be avoided.  Assume all downed power lines are live and stay away.

• Generator safety

  Generators should be operated outdoors only and in well-ventilated areas.  Don’t exceed the rated capacity of the generator and only refuel when the engine is off and cool. 

How to report a power outage:

• Online through MyAccount at cleco.com.
• Call 1-800-622-6537.
• Text “OUT” from your cell phone to 25326 (Cleco).To sign up for text message notifications, text “REG” to 25326.