OG&E crews are off on another rescue mission—this time to help support the Entergy utility company in Louisiana as it braces for the arrival of Tropical Storm Francine which could grow to a Category 1 hurricane by Wednesday afternoon or evening. The storm could carry up to 100 mph winds when it makes landfall.
A team of 150 line restoration crew members and other support personnel plan to meet at staging areas early Wednesday and head to Louisiana.
The crew members are from Oklahoma City, Enid, and Ardmore and will leave Shawnee and join crews from Muskogee, Kellyville, and Fort Smith, Ark. at a meeting point in eastern Oklahoma. The teams will arrive in Louisiana Wednesday afternoon to help with power restoration in areas impacted by the storm.
Entergy, a Louisiana electric company, requested support and is urging its customers on the Gulf Coast to prepare for potential power outages, particularly in south and southeast Louisiana, where the storm’s greatest impacts are expected.
Mutual assistance crews can be deployed for up to 14 days. If more assistance is needed, OG&E may rotate in additional crews. OG&E crews and restoration personnel will remain across the company’s service area in Oklahoma and western Arkansas to monitor and maintain service for customers.
Some of the same workers are likely to be those who spent a few weeks helping a Houston utility after Hurricane Beryl battered the city in early July.
