UPDATE: June 18, 2023 at 7:00pm
Despite an initial set back from additional severe weather, crews continued to make steady progress in the ongoing effort to rebuild SWEPCO’s energy delivery system following extreme weather that began on Friday.
Beginning late Saturday, both line crews and tree crews were arriving from a variety of locations and have now mobilized across our hardest hit districts.
On Sunday, those crews, which include resources from AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power, Indiana & Michigan Power, and Kentucky Power as well as other mutual assistance partners from across the United States, are arriving and providing support.
At peak, close to a quarter of a million SWEPCO customers lost power after the hurricane-force winds caused significant damage to the power delivery system across SWEPCO’s service area. As of 7:45 p.m. Sunday, approximately 90,000 customers have had power restored; an estimated 160,000 SWEPCO customers remain without power
Customers could receive individual mobile alerts as early as Monday for updated or revised estimated times for restoration.
Natchitoches District in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 20
Texarkana District in Texas – 10 p.m., Wednesday, June 21
Longview District in Texas – 10 p.m., Friday, June 23
Shreveport District in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Saturday, June 24
Service Trucks
Through mutual assistance, additional crews were called upon to aid in the effort to help. As a result, nearly 3,000 utility professionals have now joined forces to tackle the work and rebuild communities across northwest Louisiana, east Texas and the western communities in Arkansas following the continued onslaught of extreme weather.
UPDATE: June 17, 2023 at 5:00pm
SWEPCO Energy Delivery System; Restoration Requires Prolonged Effort
SWEPCO has activated an all-in response and are being joined by more than 2,800 utility professionals to help rebuild its power delivery system, including crews from AEP Texas, Appalachian Power, Indiana & Michigan Power, and Kentucky Power as well as other support from Missouri and Oklahoma. SWEPCO is grateful for all the crew members who have left their families to help in this historic restoration effort.
As restoration work on the system continues, additional outages could occur until SWEPCO’s transmission system is stabilized. Customers should prepare to be without service for an extended period.
Following initial damage assessments, restoration estimates for areas impacted by the storm are below. Restoration areas and times will be updated as crews continue working to restore power.
Natchitoches District in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 20
Texarkana District in Texas – 10 p.m., Wednesday, June 21
Longview District in Texas – 10 p.m., Friday, June 23
Shreveport District in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Saturday, June 24
As we get more specific information for your area, we will update this information.
UPDATE: June 16, 2023 at 7:00pm
Due to excessive damage to our electrical facilities, SWEPCO customers should prepare for prolonged power outages and in some cases additional outages as we repair damage to our system. We will know more once the damage assessment is completed. Customers should prepare to be without service for an extended period.
Currently, more than 233,898 customers remain without power following the severe weather. Following initial damage assessments today, restoration estimates for areas impacted by the storm are below but could be resolved sooner. Restoration times will be updated as crews continue working to restore power.
Natchitoches service territory in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Tuesday, June 20
Texarkana service territory in Texas – 10 p.m., Wednesday, June 21
Longview service territory in Texas – 10 p.m., Friday, June 23
Shreveport service territory and surrounding communities in Louisiana – 10 p.m., Saturday, June 24
As we get more specific information for your area, updates will be forthcoming.
If you have lost power, please turn off your air conditioner and large appliances to enable smoother service restoration. Once power is restored, switch the devices back on gradually over the following 30 to 45 minutes. Taking this step helps prevent a sudden surge in demand after power is restored, which could cause a second outage.
Service restoration could be delayed due to continued electric system issues and weather conditions.
UPDATE: June 16, 2023 at 12:40pm
Emergency assessment and response is well underway by SWEPCO crews across the service area after powerful storms brought down trees in east Texas and into northwest Louisiana. As of 11 a.m., Friday, more than 237,000 customers were without power. Many roads were also blocked by some of the same downed trees that took down power lines.
Crews are working now to support four regional hospitals impacted by the extreme weather in Shreveport, Louisiana and Marshall and Longview, Texas to help make those facilities safe.
Described by some as a storm with hurricane-level impacts, SWEPCO has activated an all-in response. Already, we have requested mutual aid assistance with a call for an additional 185-line worker crews and forestry resources with an estimated 2,000 additional utility professionals to join in the recovery work.
Reports show the early morning storms delivered howling winds that included peak wind gusts that snapped trees and downed lines. As a result of the wide-spread damage, the restoration and recovery effort will take time and officials report that could span many days. Crews continue to assess damage to identify the extent of the severe weather impacts, equipment repairs and time needed to safely restore power.
Estimated restoration times may be shared by late Friday evening, once the full assessments are completed.
In addition to our crews, law enforcement and city officials have joined in support to help clear roads.
For your safety and for the efficiency of our crew efforts, please refrain from approaching our crews while they are on scene. Contact our customer service personnel with any questions.
June 16, 2023 at 11am
Overnight storms knocked out power to approximately a quarter-million SWEPCO customers across north and central Louisiana and east Texas, so many impacted residents need to prepare for a long wait to regain electricity, a company spokesman said this morning.
Approximately 154,000 Louisiana customers, all but 13,000 north of Stonewall in DeSoto Parish, were without power as of 10:30 a.m., said Michael Corbin, external affairs manager for SWEPCO.
“This will be a multi-day restoration event. As soon as assessments are completed, Estimated Times of Restoration (ETR) will be provided as they are available,” Corbin said in a statement.
The first advisory should come in the 3-4 p.m. range today, said Corbin.
SWEPCO personnel and crews from other utility entities are urgently working to assess the scope of the damage, as happens with hurricanes, ice storms and other major weather events, he said.
“The thing that’s different about this storm and will make it a multi-day event is that the fact that so much transmission was also damaged or destroyed, not just distribution that would go to homes and businesses,” he said.
“I think what we’re going to see is places that simply needed refusing or something like that, they’ll see power restored very quickly, and we’ve seen numbers come down already. But then, we’re going to hit that wall where we’ve got to rebuild. The people who don’t come on pretty quick are going to have a few tough days.”
The statement he issued said “high winds that passed through Northwest Louisiana early this morning caused major damage to the electrical grid. The storm originated in the panhandle of Oklahoma as a Super Cell Storm and held together through our area. Winds of 80 MPH or higher are being reported across east Texas and NW Louisiana.
“Crews are currently out accessing damage and creating repair orders. Forestry crews have been mobilized to begin the task of clearing away downed trees to assist with assessment and the rebuilding effort. Additional resources will be utilized to assist with the restoration effort. The damage includes both transmission and distribution lines across the area. Additionally, damage to other utility systems will likely impact feeds to our substations in some areas.
“Restoration priorities will include public safety, hospitals, and critical municipal infrastructure first. If your municipality has critical infrastructure outages, please contact your SWEPCO Account Representative.
“SWEPCO stresses that people should stay away from downed wires and assume any wire is energized and dangerous. Be especially careful if removing downed trees or limbs as they could have wires tangled in them.”
Corbin urged the public to stay safe, and advised customers with outages to keep their refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
