BATON ROUGE – While thousands are without power on Monday and Tuesday morning due to an icy winter storm, teams from Entergy and Demco are working hard to restore electricity in areas in southern Louisiana.
More than 100,000 were left without power on Monday. The teams were working feverishly until Monday night to reconnect the houses. However, some people are expected to run out of energy at night.
For those who have electricity, Entergy also issued a notice to residents to moderate energy consumption.
“When power is cut off during the winter, many customers leave their heating systems and appliances on, creating a lot of energy demand at once when we try to restore energy,” said the company.
Later on Monday, Entergy issued another statement asking customers to reduce energy use, specifically between 5 pm and 9 pm on Monday.
Entergy said energy demand could exceed the current level of electricity generated due to the weather. If unable to keep up with demand, Entergy says that periodic outages may be needed to avoid more extensive outages. The company currently predicts that the load will exceed that of January 2019 and reach an all-time peak.
Entergy’s tips for reducing energy consumption include the following.
– Lower the central thermostat to 68 degrees and adjust the window units accordingly.
-Use low energy ceiling fans and portable fans to circulate the air and help you in your comfort.
-Open blinds, curtains and drapes to let in the heat of the sun.
– Delay laundry, washing dishes, bathing and other non-essential uses of electricity until this call for conservation ends.
– Wash your clothes with cold water, cook the food as low as possible and avoid opening the oven door during cooking.
-Do not let the heated air escape from home.