Entergy Louisiana Reliability Blitz Hits Jackson Parish

Company installing devices to minimize the impact of outages

JONESBORO, La – Almost 40 Entergy Louisiana, LLC linemen from across north Louisiana hit the street of Jackson Parish this week, working to improve reliability and shorten the duration of outages.

In addition to the 12-man crew located permanently in Jackson Parish, an additional 23 linemen from across the northern part of the state took part in the reliability blitz.

“We monitor the frequency and duration of outages on a daily basis,” said Dennis Dawsey, vice president for Louisiana distribution. “It allows us to identify areas that need to be inspected. This reliability blitz is a way for us to proactively address potential issues that could affect our ability to reliably deliver power before those issues become a problem for our customers.”

The linemen spent the week changing damaged poles, upgrading equipment and installing sectionalizing fuses on the company’s distribution lines throughout the area. The fuses were installed in strategic locations to reduce the number of customers that are affected by an event that can cause an outage.

The fuses will isolate and narrow the impact of an event, such as a failed transformer or a branch falling on a power line, minimizing the number of customers that lose power.

Linemen and support crews will also be inspecting existing poles, cross arms, braces and other equipment, as well as performing routine maintenance such as tree trimming.