6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, 2020

SWEPCO Updates Hornbeck and Natchitoches Area Storm Restoration Times

Shreveport, La., (Sept. 4, 2020) – SWEPCO estimates power will be restored to 95% of customers in the Hornbeck area by 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8. Community-by-community restoration estimates are listed below.

“We know our customers are struggling in the devastation left behind by Hurricane Laura,” said Malcolm Smoak, SWEPCO president and chief operating officer. “Our crews are committed to working through this exceptional storm damage and getting your lights on. There is no holiday weekend for us or for folks without power. Thousands of line and tree personnel are working to restore power as safely and quickly as possible.”

Workers have identified more than 1,400 utility poles broken by Hurricane Laura, including more than 770 in the Hornbeck area.

Overall, 12 of 29 circuits serving the Natchitoches area have been fully repaired, One of the 17 circuits serving communities near Hornbeck has been completely fixed. Three additional circuits are 95% complete.

At 6 p.m. Friday, SWEPCO reported 17,300 customers without power in Central Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, including 11,300 in the Hornbeck area and 6,000 in the Natchitoches area.

Estimated Times of Restoration

Estimates are for 95% of customers who can take power. Many customers’ power will be restored sooner.

Hornbeck Area:

Leesville –

Friday 11:59 PM - North to Anacoco & East on Hwy 111

Saturday 11:59 PM - Hawthorne to Foul Road on Hwy 8; Golf course to Tank Trail on 117 North

Monday 11:59 PM - East 28 & Slagle Road

Noble –

Friday 11:59 PM - Ebarb School, North Toledo State Park, 191 South

Negreet –

Saturday 11:59 PM - Hwy 476 & Hwy 191 South; Hwy 191 North to 1215 & Hwy 6 West to State Line

Hornbeck –

Friday 11:59 PM - Anacoco - Hwy 111W

Saturday 11:59 PM - Hornbeck - Burr Ferry

Sunday 11:59 PM - Florien city limits to Hwy 463 to Hwy 191

Monday 11:59 PM - Plainview & Peason

Kurthwood –

Monday 11:59 PM - North on 117 to Kisatchie fire tower; South to Tank Trail on Hwy 117 & Hwy 465

Hicks –

Saturday 11:59 PM - To Simpson - parish line

Tuesday 11:59 PM - Hicks to Slagle - Hwy 8 to Simpson; Hwy 121 to Leander

Many –

Saturday 11:59:00 PM - South to Florien - East on 118 to Mt. Carmel Church

Sunday 11:59 PM - Hwy 6 West of Many, Airport, Shut Eye Road, to Negreet Road

Natchitoches Area:

Provencal –

10 p.m. Friday – Hagewood Hwy 6 to Hwy 504 Oak Grove community

10 p.m. Saturday – Hwy 120 Provencal and east to Cypress

10 p.m. Sunday –Hagewood Hwy. 6 to Robeline

10 p.m. Monday - Provencal and south on Hwy. 117 to Belwood

Verda –

10 p.m. Sunday – Verda Hwy 122 to Montgomery; Verda Hwy. 471 and Hwy 122 to Dry Prong

10 p.m. Monday – Hwy. 471 Verda to Atlanta, La;

Derry –

10 p.m. Saturday – Derry La  Hwy. 119 to Melrose; Derry La Hwy 1 north to Cypress, La

10 p.m. Sunday – Derry La Hwy. 1 south to Marco

Many –

10 p.m. Friday – Many Marthaville Rd

10 p.m. Sunday – Many Hwy 6 runs east to Robeline Ft. Jessup area

Marthaville –

10 p.m. Saturday – Marthaville Hwy. 120 to Robeline; Marthaville Hwy 120 to Natchitoches Parish/Sabine Parish line

Cane River –

10 p.m. Saturday- Hwy. 1 south to Natchez and Hwy 1 bypass to I-49

Grand Ecore –

10 p.m. Sunday – Hwy. 6 west of Grand Ecore and Clarence community, St. Maurice, Montgomery

Campti –

10 p.m. Friday – Campti Hwy 71 south to Clarence

10 p.m. Saturday – Campti Hwy. 71 north to Fairview;

10 p.m. Monday – Campti Hwy. 480 east to Sandy Point

Colfax –

10 p.m. Monday – Colfax Hwy 492 to Rock Hill community, Meade Rd

Outage Update

Crews continue to repair power lines that deliver electricity from those substations to homes and businesses across Central Louisiana.

SWEPCO has restored power to 24,700 Central Louisiana customers. At the peak after the hurricane, 42,000 customer were without power in Bienville, DeSoto, Grant, Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine, Vernon and Winn parishes.

For all of SWEPCO, power has been restored to almost 119,000 customers, or about 87%, of those without power after Hurricane Laura struck SWEPCO’s service area as a Category 2 storm on Thursday, Aug. 27.

When Customer Repairs Are Needed

• 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 qualified electrician repair this damage before power can be restored. The service entrance includes the metal box housing 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, and other related facilities. Similar responsibilities apply to underground service.

• After repairs are made, contact SWEPCO to have power restored.

Tracking Outages

• Use the SWEPCO app, available for download via the App Store or Google Play.

• Log on to SWEPCO.com to report an outage and sign up for text and email updates, including an estimated time of restoration.

• Visit SWEPCO.com/OutageMap to find detailed information without logging into your account

Public Safety

• Customers without power who are on life support systems or need uninterrupted electric service for health reasons should make alternate arrangements for extended outages. Louisiana residents can call 211 to find cooling centers and other assistance.

• Be careful when driving or walking in all utility crew work zones.

• Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and SWEPCO field personnel as we all play a crucial role in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

• Workers are practicing social distancing and other measures to stay healthy and prevent the spread of coronavirus, making the recovery effort especially challenging.

• Downed power lines – Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. Don't touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water. Stay away and keep others away. Call SWEPCO immediately

• Portable generators – If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators "backfeed" electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers' instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.

For updates and photos, see SWEPCO.com and follow SWEPCO on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO)

SWEPCO, an American Electric Power (AEP: NYSE) company, serves more than 543,000 customers in northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle, and western Arkansas. SWEPCO's headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us at Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv, LinkedIn.com/company/swepco and SWEPCOConnections.com.