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Entergy Mississippi Inc.
Entergy Mississippi Inc.
01/14/2013 | Press release
Entergy Mississippi Prepared for Winter Weather
distributed by noodls on 01/14/2013 15:44
Companies prepared should severe weather system cause Delta outages
JACKSON, Miss. - Entergy Mississippi, Inc. is prepared to respond to any power outages in the Delta region that could be caused by the winter weather system moving across the state today.
The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for the Delta region of the state as well as parts of Arkansas and Louisiana. As much as an eighth to a quarter inch of ice and isolated areas of snow are predicted.
"Freezing rain and ice accumulation can pose a significant threat to an electric system. We have about 40 contractors (eight crews) prepositioned in the HWY 82 corridor. We have ten additional contract crews and additional vegetation crews being moved into the potential strike area today as well," said Dale Hancock, operations manager for Entergy Mississippi, Inc. "We're monitoring this system and are prepared to respond should any outages occur."
Entergy officials have been working with the company's weather vendors in advance of the storm to better understand the potential risk and prepare accordingly.
When planning which work will be done first following a storm, Entergy places top priority on restoring service to facilities considered critical. These include hospitals, fire stations, police departments and other public facilities. After critical infrastructure has been restored, crews do the work that will get the largest numbers of customers on as quickly as possible.
"We also urge customers to monitor the storm and prepare to implement their own storm plans if needed," Hancock said. "And customers should call 1-800-9OUTAGE (1-800-968-8243) to report downed or dangling power lines, poles or other damaged equipment. As with any storm, safety is always our first priority. Customers should not walk in standing water or venture into areas of debris since power lines that could still be energized and dangerous may not be visible."
Storm-preparedness tips and online services are available to customers through "Entergy Storm Center," Customers can also sign up to send and receive text information about power outages through their cellphones. To use the service, register a cellphone number by texting the message REG to 368374. The system will respond and ask for an Entergy account number and ZIP code.
Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 437,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation 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 more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.
