BATON ROUGE – Because thousands of people are without electricity Monday and Tuesday mornings due to a freezing winter storm, crews with Entergy and Demco are working hard to restore electricity to areas of southern Louisiana.
More than 100,000 were without electricity on Monday. Teams worked feverishly until Monday evening to reconnect the houses. Some people are expected to be without electricity during the night.
For those with electricity, Entergy also issued a warning for residents to moderate energy consumption.
“When power is cut off during the winter, many customers leave heating systems and appliances on, generating too much energy demand at once when we try to restore power,” the company said.
Later Monday, Entergy issued another statement asking customers to reduce energy consumption, specifically between 5pm and 9pm on Monday.
Entergy said energy demand may exceed the current level of electricity generated due to the climate. If it can’t keep up with demand, Entergy says periodic outages may be needed to avoid longer outages. Currently, the company anticipates that the load will exceed that of January 2019 and will reach an all-time high.
Entergy’s tips for reducing energy consumption are as follows.
-Lower the center thermostat to 68 degrees and adjust the window units accordingly.
-Use energy-efficient ceiling fans and portable fans to circulate the air to help you with your comfort.
-Open blinds, curtains and drapes to let in the heat of the sun.
-Delay washing, washing dishes, bathing and other non-essential uses of electricity until the end of this conservation resource.
-Wash clothes with cold water, cook food as little as possible and avoid opening the oven door while cooking.
-Do not allow hot air to escape from the house.