Entergy’s Louisiana has asked customers to voluntarily reduce electricity usage, especially between 5 pm and 9 pm Monday night, in an effort to avoid the kind of continuous blackout that left millions of people without power in Texas.
The order comes at a time when temperatures in southern Louisiana are expected to drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday night, as the winter storm continues to pass through the region.
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“This unusual order is due to the demand for electricity potentially exceeding available generation due to extreme cold and weather conditions currently impacting our service territory,” said Entergy in a press release on Monday afternoon.
Entergy reported late Monday afternoon that even more than 94,000 customers were without electricity in Louisiana. About half of the outages occurred at customers in East Baton rouge, with several thousand others in the parishes of Tangiphahoa, Livingston and Ascension.
Jefferson Parish was also showing some 5,000 power outages, most of them concentrated in the Kenner areas, by the airport’s lakeside near The Esplanade shopping center and by the lake on West Esplanade Avenue, west of the Elmwood Canal.
In New Orleans, there were only a few minor outages reported in the Gentilly area and other areas, with only a few dozen customers affected.
The cause of the disruptions in Louisiana so far was mainly due to falling trees and ice on the lines.
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In Texas, however, widespread outages for Entergy customers in the southeast, primarily around Houston, and for customers of other suppliers across the state, were due to continuous blackouts that occurred when power distribution companies shut down overloaded generators to avoid more widespread losses of power.
“Current load predictions are approaching a historic peak, even greater than those experienced during the polar 2019 vortex of January 2019,” said Entergy in a press release on Monday.
She said her regional supply system – Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO – asked Entergy to ask customers to cut back on usage this afternoon and evening.
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“If the power supply cannot meet demand, then periodic power outages will be necessary to prevent an extensive power outage that can last for a long period,” said Entergy, adding that the order does not apply to elderly or needy customers. special health.
Customers were advised to reduce thermostats to 68 degrees and use fans to distribute heat efficiently. Delay the use of clothes and dishwashers, baths and other non-essential uses of electricity.