AR (STL.News) Early morning storms Easter Sunday caused outages across the Entergy Arkansas service territory, and more severe weather is forecast for this evening.  The peak number of outages was 5,294 at 3:45 a.m.  As of 4 p.m., just under 2,000 remain out.  The majority are in and around El Dorado.

Customers should refrain from approaching utility workers, especially during the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.  Interruptions will slow workers’ progress under normal conditions, but the health and safety of both Entergy Arkansas employees and customers can be put in jeopardy with close contact.

For customers who lose power, there are several things they should do to ensure their structures are ready to be re-connected to the grid.

• Check outside and around structures for damage to electrical equipment.
• If the meter or any of the conduit and wires on the outside wall are missing or look damaged, call an electrician to make repairs.
• If the home or business has been flooded, customers will need to contact the appropriate city or county for an electrical inspection before service can be restored.
• Entergy Storm Center has information on how to spot damages.

Safety is of utmost importance.

• There is no way to know if a downed line is energized. Stay away and call 1-800-9OUTAGE (800-968-8243).
• Stay away from standing water and debris from trees and other vegetation. It may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines.
• If you’re using a generator wired to your home, an electrician needs to connect it to prevent damage to your electrical system or injury to our linemen.

About Entergy

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 700,000 customers in 63 counties.  Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.  Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power.  Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.  Entergy has annual revenues of $11 billion and approximately 13,600 employees.

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