Efforts have focused on rebuilding SWEPCO’s energy delivery system following a Friday storm that pummeled local communities and brought devastation to transmission and distribution systems and knocking power to more than 250,000 customers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
As of 5:00 p.m., SWEPCO reports show an estimated 43,209 customers remain without power including:
- 26,780 customers in Shreveport, Louisiana and surrounding service areas
- 15,481 customers in Longview, Texas and surrounding service areas
- 651 customers in Texarkana, USA and surrounding service areas
- 307 customers in Natchitoches, Louisiana and surrounding service areas
"We’re so grateful to our customers for their continued patience, our communities for the ongoing collaboration and partnership and our SWEPCO crews who were joined by other utility professionals from across the United States to help in our recovery effort,” said SWEPCO president and COO Brett Mattison.
Teams were optimistic based on the progress made in the past 48 hours, especially given the far-reaching damage to the energy system, which included items that had to be repaired or replaced. A current snapshot of damage, which could continue to increase, includes the following:
- 783 utility poles
- 900 cross arms
- 269 transformers
- Over ~100 miles of distribution conductors
- Approximately 112 Transmission & Distribution substations
- 335 Distribution circuit breakers
- 58 transmission lines
“As work continues, crews will be consolidated to move into the hardest hit areas that could result in continued difficult terrain with significant tree damage, in remote, rural areas or in backyards. Progress continues but work is far from over,” Mattison said. “We won’t stop until every customer outage is resolved.”
NOTE: If you get a text alert that your power is back on, but you’re still without power, report your outage by replying OUT to that text message.
Is Your Home Able to Accept Power?
As we continue to make progress to rebuild our energy delivery system, now is the time to determine if your home is ready to accept power.
After any storm passes and when it’s safe to do so, assess damage around your home. Always remember this life-saving rule: keep you and your loved ones away from standing water near wires and appliances and remember to stay away from downed power lines!
Depending on where you find damage, you may need to make several calls to be ready to get power.
SWEPCO cannot connect power to a home or business if there is damage to the service entrance, which is owned by the customer.
Customers need to have a licensed electrician repair this damage before power can be restored.
Homeowners can refer to the graphic (shown) as a handy reference and assess whether any damage to customer equipment is visible.
This could include the metal box that houses SWEPCO's meter, the "weatherhead" pipe on top of the meter box, the service entrance cables running from the weatherhead through the meter box to the inside panel box, or other related facilities. Similar responsibilities apply to underground service.
If repairs are needed, a professional electrician must first make those repairs before the home can be ready to accept power.