Pineville, La. (9 a.m.) – Cleco has restored power to 25,500 of the 28,000 customers who experienced outages after remnants of Tropical Storm Olga moved across Cleco’s service territory in St. Tammany and Washington parishes early Saturday morning.

“Our crews will continue to work throughout the day, and we expect the remaining 2,500 customers who can receive power will have their power restored today,” said James Lass, general manager of distribution operations and emergency management.   

Damage

Parts of St. Tammany and Washington parishes were hit with winds over 70 MPH.  There was extensive damage to Cleco’s system and equipment, including damage to multiple substations, over 35 broken poles, damage to crossarms and downed wire.  In addition to system and equipment damage, crews encountered impassable or closed roads due to debris which has proved challenging to our restoration efforts.  As such the company brought in specialized equipment.

Resources

Immediately following the storm, the company secured Cleco personnel from unaffected areas, as well as brought in 175 contractors to assist with clean-up, repairs and restoration efforts.  After initial damage assessments, Cleco brought in more Cleco line mechanics from around the state and four additional line mechanic contractor crews and vegetation specialists.

“Cleco remains prepared with the workforce, materials and equipment necessary to restore power safely and efficiently,” said Lass.  “We appreciate our customers’ patience and thank our crews and contractors for their hard work.”

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