Pineville, La., Oct. 29, 2020 (2 p.m.) – At the height of Hurricane Zeta, nearly 73,000 Cleco customers lost power in St. Tammany and Washington parishes.  Currently, power has been restored to over 11,000 customers.  Power has been restored to all customers in Washington Parish.

“Damage assessment and power restoration efforts are in full swing,” said Mike Polk, manager of distribution operations.  “We have two major transmission lines out of service – one on the east side of the parish and the other on the west side.  Transmission lines are critical because they carry electricity from the power plants to distribution lies which carry electricity to homes and businesses.  We’ve also found numerous trees on lines, broken poles, broken crossarms and damaged transformers.”

In addition to Cleco personnel, the company has over 600 contractors assisting with storm restoration, including damage assessors, distribution line mechanics, vegetation specialists and transmission resources.

“Crews are working to repair the damage to our transmission system, and as soon as those repairs are complete, power restoration will move even more quickly,” said Polk. 

How Cleco restores power after a storm:

• Safety is a priority in everything Cleco does.  Once conditions are safe, workers begin to access damage by land and air.
• Next, transmission and distribution lines are inspected and repaired. Transmission lines are critical because they carry electricity from the power plants to the distribution lines.  Distribution lines carry power to homes and businesses.
• Power is then restored to critical community services first, such as nursing homes, hospitals, police departments, etc.
• Power is then restored to the greatest number of customers in the shortest amount of time until power is restored to all customers who can receive power.