Entergy : Service Reliability Projects Multiply for Beaumont Area

Motorists urged to drive cautiously in work areas

Beaumont, Texas - With a service reliability project near Fannett about 50 percent complete, two more Beaumont-area projects are set to get underway before the end of June. Like the Fannett project, the others involve contract workers trimming vegetation that could cause problems for customers' electric service.

The latest projects include one in the China area which is scheduled to begin June 18. The other project is in Beaumont proper and is scheduled to begin June 23. Both projects will involve crews working manually as well as in highly-visible bucket trucks. Drivers in the area are urged to be alert and use caution when nearing work areas.

Work out of the China substation, located off Highway 90 east of Nome, will involve trimming vegetation from a 92-mile long power line that serves 620 customers. The project is expected to last up to two months and will include areas south of Nome on Highway 365 and south on FM 1406 to Bauer Road.

In Beaumont, work will target a power line fed by the McHale substation on McHale Road. The 9-mile line serves 570 customers with work expected to take just over a month. Areas involved include binger Road north to Roland, East Lucas, south to El Paso and Harding to Hayes. Portions of Concord Road will also be trimmed.

"These vegetation projects are an important part of keeping service to our customers reliable," said Pam Williams, customer service representative for Beaumont. "In this part of Southeast Texas, vegetation and trees grow very quickly and can get into power lines, especially during storms."

The company combats vegetation growth through an aggressive program in which a schedule is kept to ensure all power lines receive regular vegetation maintenance.  In 2013, Entergy Texas workers trimmed more than 1,900 line miles throughout Southeast Texas. As part of that, Entergy Texas vegetation personnel evaluated hazard trees for possible removal. A hazard tree is any tree with a structural defect, such as being dead or dying, decayed or leaning. Any of these circumstances could cause the tree to fall into overhead power lines.

Entergy Texas, Inc. delivers electricity to more than 420,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is 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 more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.