Small Areas Of New Orleans Get Power, Could Take Weeks For Rest Of City

Some homes in New Orleans light up as Entergy works to slowly restore power.

Early Wednesday morning (September 1), Entergy announced that crews had restored power to some homes in New Orleans East. While this provides a glimmer of hope, it could still take weeks to bring power back to the rest of the city given the amount of infrastructure damage sustained during Hurricane Ida. Entergy also has to balance their power restoration efforts while not overloading the already fragile electrical grid, WWL-TV reports.

Entergy was able to bring power back to areas of Treme and Mid-City near North Broad Avenue with power supplied by the New Orleans Power Station, marking the first step to restoring power for the metro region, according to WDSU.

Additionally, DEMCO crews in Baton Rouge are also working to restore power to a city that had been largely without since Sunday, per FOX 8 Live, reporting about 60,000 to 80,000 outages. However, they also caution that it could take weeks and encourage customers to "make plans now for their health, safety and comfort."

"Though we would love nothing more than to restore power to all members at this time, without repairs to transmission and transformer poles, that isn't possible," DEMCO said in a statement on its Facebook page. "Also until damaged infrastructure is repaired, we cannot begin to replace distribution poles and lines and estimated times of restoration are not possible."

During the midst of power outages, Southeast Louisiana could experience a heat index of over 100 degrees. To cool down without power, try standing in shaded areas, covering the outside of windows with something reflective, making paper fans, and minimize outside activity during peak afternoon temperatures. Also make sure to stay hydrated and pay attention to any boil water advisories for your area.