More than 85 percent of customers restored since Wednesday night
Crews will work to substantially complete restoration by end of day Friday
Evansville, Ind. – CenterPoint Energy crews have completed significant repairs to the electric system after severe storms moved through southwestern Indiana Wednesday night. As of 9:30 p.m., approximately 3,300 customers remain without power. Given the continued steady progress, the company believes it will be substantially complete with restoration by the end of the day Friday for those who can safely receive service.
Restoration work continues despite challenging conditions
Despite challenging weather conditions, with approximately 24,000 customers without power at the peak, crews have restored more than 85 percent of impacted customers. Crews remain focused on assessing and repairing damages to the electric system caused by the storm. So far, crews have encountered nearly 100 broken wooden poles, hundreds of broken limbs and downed trees and several miles of downed power lines.CenterPoint continues to deploy company, contractor and mutual assistance resources.
“We appreciate the patience of our customers and the support from the community as CenterPoint crews, contractors and mutual assistance partners continue working to restore service,” said Shane Bradford, CenterPoint’s Vice President, Indiana Electric. “Crews will continue to focus on remaining outages into the evening and through Friday, with most customers expected to be restored by the end of the day. As work continues, we remain fully focused on making sure those still without power are restored safely and as quickly as possible.”
Additional weather may impact restoration progress
According to the National Weather Service, additional rounds of rain and thunderstorms are expected through Saturday, with the potential for several more inches of rainfall across southwestern Indiana. Due to these potential weather impacts, the outage count is likely to fluctuate, and restoration efforts may be delayed in some areas.
As restoration progresses and weather conditions improve, efforts will transition from large-scale outages affecting multiple customers to localized outages affecting smaller numbers of customers. Some of these repairs require extensive work, such as replacing broken poles or restoring service to individual customers who have damage to customer-owned electrical equipment.
What customers need to know about power restoration and repairs
When restoring power after service interruptions, CenterPoint follows a prioritization process that begins with critical infrastructure, followed by repairs that restore service to the greatest number of customers before addressing individual outages.
Additionally, some customers may experience delays if repairs are needed at their home or business. One common issue after storms is damage to a weatherhead—the point where power enters a home—which is customer-owned equipment. If a weatherhead is damaged, customers must have a licensed electrician make necessary repairs before CenterPoint can restore service. After repairs are completed, customers should call 800-227-1376 to request reconnection.
As response and restoration efforts continue alongside the potential for additional storms, CenterPoint encourages customers to stay safe and informed, including making preparations in the event of extended outages or localized flooding. Visit CenterPointEnergy.com/StormCenter for electric and natural gas safety tips.
