From Entergy VP of customer service Stuart Barret:
Around midnight, our reliability coordinator, MISO, cancelled its order for periodic power outages in the Entergy Texas region. Shortly after this, Entergy Texas returned all customers who were affected by these rotating outages back in service. If you are still experiencing an outage, please call 1-800-ENTERGY.
I understand many of our customers were affected by these outages and how inconvenient and frustrating it can be. In an emergency situation like this, there was no notice provided to Entergy of the pending outage and thus no way for us to inform our customers in advance of the outages. I assure you that these steps were only a last resort measure taken to ensure the overall stability of the electric grid.
Since yesterday, Entergy Texas continues to take steps to improve the integrity of the electric grid.
Restore Critical Transmission Connections
Last night, crews were able to place a high voltage power line back into service, which provides an additional connection to the power grid. This provides another path for power to flow and improves stability into the transmission grid.
Adding Generation to Provide Additional Power
We also have started up units at Sabine Station, our power plant along the Texas/Louisiana state line. While this power plant was in the direct path of Hurricane Laura, it suffered minimal damage and crews were able to complete the start up this morning. This adds a generation to the Texas area that allows us to serve additional load.
Our transmission system suffered significant damage as a result of Hurricane Laura and the transmission grid remains fragile. We are working closely with MISO to ensure the stability of our system. We currently do not anticipate rotating outages to be required, however, we are not at normal reliability levels on our system but are working to continue restoration efforts.
I want to thank our customers for their patience during a difficult time for our region. We continue to work tirelessly to restore customers following Laura’ devastation in our area, and we are committed to doing everything we can to deliver safe, reliable service for our customers.