Over 100,000 Residents in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish Facing Power Outages: What You Need to Know

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) — On Sunday afternoon, over 100,000 Entergy customers in southeast Louisiana experienced a major power outage around 4:30 p.m. By late evening, the number of affected customers had dropped to about 75,365. Most outages occurred on the East Bank of New Orleans and in parts of Jefferson Parish.

Here’s a breakdown of the outages by parish:

• Orleans Parish: 52,266 customers without power
• Jefferson Parish: 36,201 without power
• St. Bernard Parish: 6,011 without power
• Plaquemines Parish: 6,534 without power

Entergy attributed the outages to a load-shedding order from the regional grid operator, MISO. This means they had to purposely cut power to reduce demand on the system. Entergy stated, “Approximately 52,000 customers are impacted. Our crews are working hard to restore power as quickly as possible, though the estimated time for restoration remains unclear."

This incident reflects a growing challenge for utility companies: balancing supply and demand in an era of increasing extreme weather events. Recent reports indicate that load-shedding incidents are on the rise, often linked to climate change and aging infrastructure. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, over 100 million Americans experienced power outages last year, highlighting the need for updates to our energy systems.

Social media was abuzz with reactions to the outage, as many customers expressed frustration over the lack of communication about restoration timelines. Others shared tips for staying safe during outages, like keeping flashlights handy and making sure devices are fully charged.

As we look back, we can see similar outages have shaped community responses in the past. For example, outages from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 led to significant changes in how power companies manage their grids in emergencies.

For more information, check Entergy’s official updates or visit MISO’s website for details on grid management.

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