Two Entergy representatives were on hand at Monday’s St. Charles Parish Council meeting to discuss ongoing street light repairs.
Ken Green, Entergy’s St. Charles Parish customer service representative, and Al Galindo, an Entergy regional manager, addressed the council and Parish President Matthew Jewell regarding ongoing work since Hurricane Ida struck in August.
According to the Galindo, Ida caused historic damage to Entergy’s poles and systems. The storm damaged over 30,000 poles, which was more than hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Delta and Zeta combined.
Galindo said that within St. Charles Parish Entergy owns over 15,000 poles, and that there are another 7,800 owned by other entities. Just under 25 percent of all poles were damaged by Hurricane Ida.
He said the priority immediately after the storm was to restore power safely and quickly to as many residents as possible and then follow up later with permanent repairs. Street lights are “always” at the end of the list of priorities, Galindo added.
While the months of September, October and early November were focused on electricity restoration, Galindo said street light repairs took center stage by December. He said over 3,000 of the parish’s 7,200 street lights were damaged, with 44 percent of the parish’s west bank poles damaged, 40 percent of the parish’s east bank poles damaged and 31 percent of Montz’s poles damaged.
To date, 47 percent of the parish’s damaged street light poles and equipment have been repaired, Galindo said. While no timeline was given for complete restoration, Galindo and Green both said repairs were ongoing. Green added that supply chain issues no longer seem to be a concern, and that Entergy was in touch with the parish’s elected officials to identify and assess priority areas for restoration.
At the meeting Jewell asked the representatives to prioritize Paul Mallard Road, and several council members asked for specific areas to be prioritized within their districts.
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