Louisiana energy companies want people to get ready for hurricane season

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Getting ready for hurricane season might start for some people when June begins but for DEMCO and Entergy, it’s every day.

Hurricane season officially started on Saturday, June 1. Vice President of Reliability for Entergy Louisiana Steven Benyard said storm preparation “is something that we do 365 days a year.”

DEMCO spokesperson Anne Hawes said when a hurricane or severe storm damage strikes, it’s not as easy to restore power as people think. 

“You got to cut through the destruction and clear it to then be able to get equipment to it, assess it, detangle it, bring in new things, remove poles, put in poles. It’s a lot that has to happen,” she said.

Benyard is on the front line when managing Entergy Louisiana’s response efforts. He has a few suggestions people can do right now to make restoring your power easier after a storm.

“After a hurricane, please check your facilities on your home, your meter can, your weather head. Make sure those are intact because we want to restore you while we’re there so we can get you back as quickly as we can,” he said. 

Benyard and Hawes suggest residents have first aid kits, generators, flashlights, and most importantly, a plan laid out. 

“If someone in your home relies on electricity, go ahead and make that plan now and know what you’re going to do,” Hawes said.

Benyard said customers should make sure that their account information is up to date because the company sends text notifications.

Check out DEMCO’s storm and hurricane safety tips and Entergy’s hurricane readiness page.

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