New Orleans should have power restored to entire city by Wednesday, utility says
Roughly 80% of New Orleans was still without power Friday
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Friday that she is "cautiously optimistic" about energy provider Entergy's plan to restore power to all of the city by next Wednesday.
Nearly one million Entergy customers lost power in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi last week when Hurricane Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast, damaging or destroying 14,000 poles, 2,223 transformers, and 155 transmission structures.
About 225,000 of those people have had their power restored, but roughly 80% of New Orleans was still in the dark on Friday.
Entergy, which provides power to much of southeast Louisiana, laid out a timeline that would restore power to the entire city by next Wednesday.
IDA REMNANTS BRING DEATH, DESTRUCTION TO NORTHEAST, DAYS AFTER STORM SLAMMED GULF COAST
Mayor Cantrell said Friday that linemen are "working very intentionally across neighborhoods" to restore power.
"I am cautiously optimistic that the timeline that has been provided by Energy will be complete by those deadlines," Mayor Cantrell said at a press conference Friday. "We’re really working hard and pushing to ensure that we see restoration sooner rather than later."
More than 25,000 workers from 40 states are working around the clock to get power back to affected communities, according to Entergy.
Energy power crews work to restore power after Hurricane Ida struck New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Devika Krishna Kumar
The situation was worse about 45 miles southwest of New Orleans in Lafourche Parish, where the sheriff warned residents that they can return, but shouldn't expect power, running water, reliable cell phone signal, or readily available gasoline.
"Residents can return to the parish outside of curfew times but are advised to come prepared with all provisions necessary to self-sustain," the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook.
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President Biden took a flyover tour of Louisiana's hardest-hit areas and walked through New Orleans Friday to survey the damage, pitching his $1 trillion infrastructure proposal as a way to prepare vulnerable communities for future storms.
"It seems to me we can save a whole lot of money, a whole lot of pain for our constituents, if we build back, rebuild it back in a better way," Biden said Friday at a briefing with local officials. "I realize I’m selling as I’m talking."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.