Entergy Texas responding to “triple threat” — 2 storms, COVID-19
Published 12:25 am Tuesday, August 25, 2020
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Entergy Texas is preparing for not one but two systems that are in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical Storm Marco was weakening on Monday and is not expected to cause any weather problems in Southeast Texas.
But Laura is a different story. This storm is expected to make landfall between Southeast Texas and south central Louisiana as a hurricane late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Stuart Barrett, vice president of customer service for Entergy Texas, said Entergy and its Texas customers can’t let their guard down as the path of the storm is still uncertain not to mention the severity of the storm.
Barrett said they are monitoring the storm and mobilizing personnel and crews so they can respond to the system safely and efficiently.
Entergy Texas is also working with its mutual aid companies in case the impact of the storm requires them to request additional workers. Those negotiations are underway.
“One thing we do is have to prepare to house and feed all of those crews. That’s no simple task,” he said. “We do a lot of preparation, and if we need a large number, where do we put them being mindful of COVID-19 precautions? Either a hotel or a staging site.”
Typically a large number of crews stay at a staging site, but given COVID-19, Entergy is likely to have more staging with smaller number of crews to space them out, he said.
“You’ve heard people talk about a dual threat, pandemic and a storm. Now we’re hearing triple threat. It is definitely unprecedented times for the Gulf Coast region,” he said.
Barrett advises customers to stay informed of what local officials are requesting in order to be safe, plus Energy has tools to communicate with their customers.
Online there is an outage viewer website and customers can receive text messages for restoration times. And there is social media.
Barrett said Entergy has different types of equipment from high water vehicles and drones to airboats and helicopters are all ready as they prepare for this unprecedented event.
For more information, go to entergystormcenter.com.