From low-tech to high-tech, Entergy Mississippi does what it takes to ensure and improve service reliability

JACKSON, Miss. - Entergy contractors have been in towns and neighborhoods across the state in recent weeks conducting reliability inspections of some 32,000 utility poles spread throughout the Entergy Mississippi, Inc. service area. The initiative is one of hundreds of such projects the utility will tackle this year in an effort to maintain and improve the reliability of Entergy's electrical service.

"We use everything from high-tech gadgets like infrared sensors to low-tech efforts like visual inspections of poles to maintain and improve the integrity of our electrical infrastructure," said Robbin Jeter, Entergy Mississippi vice president of customer service. "Our customers count on us to deliver safe, reliable and affordable electricity to their homes, schools and businesses, so we use whatever tools it takes to keep the lights on."

Osmose Utilities Services, Inc., a specialist in its field, was selected to perform the routine preventative maintenance work. Each year, a portion of the company's half-million poles are selected to undergo a rigorous scrutiny to ensure they are in good shape. About 325,000 of these poles are wood, with the remainder being concrete or steel.

Four two-man crews inspected about 5,000 poles a week. The poles are visually inspected for defects, then sounded to find any internal voids or hollow cavities. This means the inspectors need access to every pole, whether on an easily-accessible roadway or in a narrow alley behind a home or business. Poles identified as needing maintenance are reported to Entergy Mississippi for corrective action.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 437,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation 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. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,000 employees.

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