During routine outage events, utility companies in the United States use their own crews or contractors to restore power. In the event of a major storm, however, the task of restoration is so huge that outside help is needed. Entergy partners with other utilities in mutual assistance agreements that lend a hand to each other if called in during widespread outage emergencies. Mutual assistance companies meet annually to strengthen their partnership. Entergy currently participates in four different mutual assistance organizations.

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As witnessed during recent natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, mutual assistance agreements are critical in the restoration process. Entergy has already sent hundreds of linemen from Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi to help restore power to neighboring communities in Florida. And this isn’t the first time we’ve sent crews to assist our neighbors.

After Hurricane Matthew impacted the southeastern United States, Entergy crews devoted more than 38,528 hours to help restore service in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina through mutual assistance agreements with utility companies like Duke ���ϳԹ��� Florida and Carolina, Florida Power & Light, Georgia Power and South Carolina Electric & Gas. Our crews were able to help provide assistance because we had prepared before the storm.

“When there’s a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, that’s not the first time to be thinking about how you’re going to restore power,” said Mike Vaughan, Entergy’s system storm incident commander. “We follow a very detailed, rehearsed plan that has worked well for us during storm recovery.”

Entergy serves areas that are prone to some of the most severe weather in the United States: ice storms, tornadoes, violent thunderstorms and of course, hurricanes. To combat those and other perils, we have a plan of continuous preparation, training and action. We call that plan Operation: Storm Ready.

Entergy plans restoration efforts months before the first sign of foul weather.

“We have mutual assistance agreements in place with utility providers in nearby states to help us to build the needed work force to get your lights back on as safely and quickly as possible,” Vaughan said.

September is National Preparedness Month, and we’re joining in preparing our communities.

Remember, disasters don’t plan ahead. You can.

Customers can visit for tips and other information to prepare for severe weather and to get information on the restoration efforts that follow a storm.

The Louisiana crews are part of the more than 650 Entergy and contract personnel from Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas headed to Florida to help Florida Power & Light in its restoration efforts.

The Louisiana crews are expected to stop in the Pensacola, Fla., area Sunday night before driving to Orlando once it is safe to travel Monday. ��From there, Florida Power & Light will send the crews where they are most needed.

“We’ve been the beneficiaries of help from other utilities multiple times, and we’re glad to return the favor,” said Dennis Dawsey, Entergy’s vice president of customer service in Louisiana. “Irma is expected to do significant damage in Florida, but our crews are ready to do all they can to get communities back on their feet. Entergy employees know firsthand how important it is to safely and quickly restore power so people can start the recovery process following a major storm.”

Entergy’s utility companies participate in mutual assistance agreements with utilities from across the country as well as within the Entergy family. When companies need assistance after storms, restoration workers are sent to help safely restore power to customers. Entergy Texas was the most recent beneficiary of the agreements following Hurricane Harvey, receiving help from Entergy crews from Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi as well as other utilities.

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to more than 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the company is a subsidiary of ���ϳԹ���.

���ϳԹ��� is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $10.8 billion and nearly 13,000 employees.

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B-ROLL AVAILABLE

B-roll of Entergy crews leaving from both New Orleans and Slidell Sunday morning is available . The footage includes two soundbites from Ryan Price, an operations coordinator with Entergy New Orleans.

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