More than 2,300 linemen are working across Mississippi to restore power to homes and businesses. Outages peaked at more than 200,000 across the state last week, and as of yesterday, nearly 19,000 remained according to the Public Service Commission. Entergy Mississippi President and CEO Haley Fisackerly says many of the power lines that were damaged have been difficult to repair. “We are seeing large trees into roads that block access, and so getting equipment through those obstacles can be a challenge to us right now,” says Fisackerly. “We’re working through it and we’ve got the resources we need to attack this, and we’ll get through it.”
Fisackerly says last week’s prolonged freeze could be a once-in-a-lifetime event, but he says Entergy is learning from the experience and will be more prepared if it happens again. “We’ll learn from it better ways to manage the grid, and we do see with the deployment of new technology. For example, we’re deploying advanced metering technology and new systems across our grid that will allow us to better manage it and deal with circumstances like this.”
While the majority of outages have been restored, experts say it could take until Wednesday for some homes to have electricity.
