Entergy Prepares for Winter Weather in Arkansas
By: Marci Manley
Updated: February 20, 2013
Tree crews in Little Rock are going up to keep power lines from going down as the threat of winter weather moves closer to the capital city.
"Those limbs, they break any time with the ice it doesn't take much," said West Tree Service crew member Sergio Martinez.
Martinez and his crew can't ignore the smallest snip to low-hanging limbs or trees that threaten to topple, because their work could keep many customers out of the cold.
"That's what we're here for, to prevent trees from falling or limbs from hitting those primary lines and creating outages," he said. "It's cold, and that wouldn't be good for people to be without power."
Entergy's linemen are also pulling out the stops to be prepared for what could come.
"All hands are on deck," said spokesperson David Lewis. "Vacations are cancelled, all the guys are loading up their trucks with supplies. The whole system is making plans for a major winter storm right now."
The company's bringing in 1,000 additional workers, that's in addition to 400 workers who normally serve the state. They'll be ready to roll out if the power outages roll in.
"They'll be on the ground, watching as the event progresses, ready to jump into action when we know where the action's required," Lewis said.
Entergy is expecting outages, simply because ice is difficult to combat once it starts freezing on power lines. They encourage customers to charge their cell phones now, and while they're at it, download the Entergy app for their smart phone.
If you have access to the Internet, you can get updated outage information here.
"Those limbs, they break any time with the ice it doesn't take much," said West Tree Service crew member Sergio Martinez.
Martinez and his crew can't ignore the smallest snip to low-hanging limbs or trees that threaten to topple, because their work could keep many customers out of the cold.
"That's what we're here for, to prevent trees from falling or limbs from hitting those primary lines and creating outages," he said. "It's cold, and that wouldn't be good for people to be without power."
Entergy's linemen are also pulling out the stops to be prepared for what could come.
"All hands are on deck," said spokesperson David Lewis. "Vacations are cancelled, all the guys are loading up their trucks with supplies. The whole system is making plans for a major winter storm right now."
The company's bringing in 1,000 additional workers, that's in addition to 400 workers who normally serve the state. They'll be ready to roll out if the power outages roll in.
"They'll be on the ground, watching as the event progresses, ready to jump into action when we know where the action's required," Lewis said.
Entergy is expecting outages, simply because ice is difficult to combat once it starts freezing on power lines. They encourage customers to charge their cell phones now, and while they're at it, download the Entergy app for their smart phone.
If you have access to the Internet, you can get updated outage information here.
