NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Following
Hurricane Laura making landfall near Cameron, Louisiana in the early morning of
Aug. 27, Entergy Corporation (NYSE:
ETR) announced today its utilities have restored power to
approximately 910,000 customers who can accept power, or
approximately 99% of customers affected by the storm. Crews have
restored power to all customers in Texas and are making significant progress in
the remaining hardest hit areas of Southwest Louisiana. Hurricane Laura was the
strongest storm to make landfall in Louisiana in 164 years and is tied for the
fifth strongest to make landfall in the continental United States.
In response to the widespread devastation caused by the storm,
Entergy deployed the largest restoration effort ever mobilized in
company history with more than 25,000 workers from 31 states. In
addition to Entergy employees, the workers came from more than 230
companies, including 24 other electric utilities. These workers
included scouts, field workers, vegetation workers and support
staff.
"We are proud of the thousands of men and women who are working
tirelessly to safely restore power for our customers," said
Rod West, Entergy Utility Group
President. "Hurricane Laura inflicted catastrophic damage on
Entergy's transmission and distribution systems that resulted in
approximately 600,000 outages at its peak and impacted more than
900,000 customers in total. Despite the extent of the damage, the
teams have made significant progress and expect to restore power to
all customers who can take power by Sept.
30."
With the company operating in a high state of readiness and a
significant storm workforce in place ready to respond as soon as
the storm passed, Entergy's swift restoration and rebuilding
efforts have received strong and vocal support from federal, state
and local public officials.
Damage Assessment
Hurricane Laura's historic intensity caused severe damage to the
Entergy distribution and transmission systems across Louisiana and Texas. The storm's damage to Entergy's system
included:
- more than 14,000 distribution poles,
- approximately 4,800 transformers,
- approximately 30,000 spans of distribution wire,
- more than 30,000 crossarms,
- approximately 1,900 transmission structures damaged or
destroyed,
- more than 300 substations, and
- approximately 225 transmission lines.
As a result of the storm's extensive damage to the grid
infrastructure serving the impacted area, large portions of the
underlying transmission system required nearly a complete rebuild.
However, despite the damage, recent investments in modern
transmission structures paid off as those assets withstood the
storm's impact and remained intact. The transmission system is the
backbone of the electric grid and helps Entergy move power from
power plants to the lines serving customers. Given the extent of
damage and rebuilding required, power restoration has been as
difficult and challenging as Entergy has ever faced.
As previously noted, most of the damage has been repaired, and a
clear design and engineering path exists for the remaining work.
Restoration workers continue to repair and rebuild damaged
high-voltage transmission lines that will bring power into
Calcasieu and Cameron parishes, including the Lake Charles area. Completion of this work is
expected to allow for power to be restored to the remaining
customers who are able to take power by Sept. 30. Work will continue through most of
November to complete the transmission system rebuild.
In response to the storm, Entergy's shareholders have provided
financial support to the affected communities. With support from
Entergy and other community partners, the American Red Cross
deployed 1,800 employees and volunteers to provide shelter, meals,
counseling and supplies to those in need. Entergy shareholders also
match dollar-for-dollar employee contributions to the American Red
Cross. In addition, Entergy's shareholders have committed
$660,000 in charitable contributions
to support communities impacted by Hurricane Laura. Company
shareholders are also matching employee contributions to the
Entergy Employee Assistance Fund, helping our own employees
affected by the disaster.
For additional information on the company's restoration efforts
following Hurricane Laura, visit entergy.com/HurricaneLaura.
Financial Implications
Total restoration costs for the repair and/or replacement of the
electrical facilities damaged by Hurricane Laura are estimated to
be in the range of $1.5 billion to
$1.7 billion. The majority of the
costs were incurred by Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Texas. The
preliminary estimate for Entergy Louisiana is $1.25 billion to $1.4
billion and the preliminary estimate for Texas is $0.23
billion to $0.26 billion.
Hurricane Laura restoration was the first large-scale disaster
response that required Entergy to implement COVID-19 safety
protocols. Increased costs associated with those safety measures,
including lodging and personal protection equipment, are included
in our preliminary estimate.
Entergy also expects utility revenues in 2020 to be adversely
affected, primarily due to power outages resulting from the
hurricane. The company's initial estimate of lost revenue is
approximately $35 million to
$40 million, with the majority of
this impact occurring in Louisiana. The financial impact of the lost
revenue will be partly offset by lower operation and maintenance
expenses resulting from redeployment of resources to storm
work.
Entergy affirms its 2020 adjusted earnings guidance range of
$5.45 to $5.75 per share.
Entergy believes its liquidity is sufficient to meet its current
obligations. As of Aug. 31, 2020, net
liquidity was $4.0 billion including
storm escrows of $0.4 billion.
Storms are an unfortunate but not unexpected part of living on
the Gulf Coast, and Entergy has a long history of working
collaboratively with its regulators to recover storm costs. Entergy
Louisiana and Entergy Texas are considering all available avenues
to recover storm-related costs from Hurricane Laura in a way that
will minimize the effects on customers, including accessing funded
storm escrows and securitization. There are well-established
mechanisms and precedent for addressing these catastrophic events
and providing for recovery of prudently incurred storm costs in
accordance with applicable regulatory and legal principles. Due to
the national importance of the refineries, petrochemical and other
essential industries that the utility companies serve on the Gulf
Coast, Entergy also is exploring opportunities for federal
assistance in the restoration and potential hardening of the
infrastructure in this area.
Forward-Looking Statements
In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation
makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements
regarding Entergy's 2020 earnings guidance; expectations around
restoration timing, costs and recovery; and other statements of
Entergy's plans, beliefs, or expectations included in this
presentation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date
of this news release. Except to the extent required by the federal
securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in such
forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed
elsewhere in this presentation and in Entergy's most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q,
and Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with rate
proceedings, formula rate plans, and other cost recovery
mechanisms, including the risk that costs may not be recoverable to
the extent anticipated by the utilities; (c) uncertainties
associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms
and recover related restoration costs; (d) legislative and
regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with
claims or litigation by or against Entergy and its subsidiaries;
(e) effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and
regulations and other governmental actions or policies, including
changes in monetary, fiscal, tax, environmental, or energy
policies; and (f) the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on Entergy and its customers.
About 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 8,000 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.
entergy.com
facebook.com/Entergy
Twitter: @Entergy
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SOURCE Entergy Corporation