Entergy Arkansas has successfully completed restoring power to all customers whose homes and businesses could safely receive power following last week’s Winter Storm Cora.
The first major storm of the year hit Arkansas on Thursday, bringing arctic cold, heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain that posed challenges statewide but proved the resilience of Entergy Arkansas’ power grid and responsiveness of its storm team.
Winter Storm Cora blanketed the state with snow accumulations of nearly 15 inches in some areas and over a quarter-inch of ice in others according to the National Weather Service. The impacts of the storm left more than 11,500 Entergy Arkansas customers temporarily without power at the peak of the storm. Entergy Arkansas minimized storm related damage and expedited restoration efforts thanks to the company’s extensive winter preparedness measures and grid updates. As of Saturday night, service had been restored to all customers in the hardest impacted areas.
Entergy Arkansas began preparing for the winter storm well in advance, activating a storm team of more than 2,100 crew members and mutual assistance contractors to address potential outages. Winterization measures, including insulation of critical equipment and enhanced system monitoring, ensured the power grid could withstand extreme weather. The company’s efforts paid off as damages were minimal and most outages were caused by fallen tree limbs and publicly inflicted damage due to car accidents.
Despite the treacherous road conditions, Entergy Arkansas successfully restored power to more than 74% of customers within the first 24 hours of the storm’s initial impact. Restoration crews worked around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible to ensure customers remained warm and comfortable.
Entergy Arkansas would like to extend a sincere thank you to its customers for their patience and understanding during the outages. As an effort to support all customers, Entergy Arkansas suspended all disconnections, provided a full list of warming centers for those in need, and delivered timely updates via its website, mobile app and social media channels.
As Arkansas emerges from the impacts of Winter Storm Cora, Entergy Arkansas’ power grid and its employees remain ready for the next weather event. The company is committed to investing in the reliability and resilience of its system to better serve its customers during future storms.