Houston-area crews helping to restore power in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida

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Texas-New Mexico Power crews respond to Louisiana to help restore power after Ida. (Photo: Texas-New Mexico Power)

HOUSTON - Linemen from the Houston area are headed to Louisiana to help restore power after Hurricane Ida left more than a million people in the dark.

According to PowerOutage.us, 1.07 million people in Louisiana were still without power a day after Ida made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the state.

CenterPoint Energy says more than 200 employees and contractors from Houston and Evansville, Ind., were deployed on Monday morning.

"Our thoughts are with those impacted by Hurricane Ida’s devastation. We are ready to lend a helping hand to our neighbor utilities and are fully committed to restoring power to affected customers as safely and quickly as possible," said Kenny Mercado, CenterPoint Energy’s Executive Vice President, Electric Utility. "Our linemen are skilled to perform in any type of conditions, just like they do for our customers at home."

CenterPoint Energy says crews will complete a safety and onboarding process and then begin working 16-hour shifts, while taking COVID-19 precautions.

Texas-New Mexico Power crews respond to Louisiana to help restore power after Ida. (Photo: Texas-New Mexico Power)

Texas-New Mexico Power says 30 employees, all line crews plus a mechanic, were sent from offices across the state including Friendswood, Texas City and West Columbia in the Gulf Coast region.

"TNMP is quite experienced working hurricane power restoration, both in our own Gulf Coast territory and assisting across the southeastern United States," said Evans Spanos, TNMP’s vice president of operations. "The working conditions will be challenging and will offer many hazards, but our crews will emphasize safety over all other considerations."

The company says TNMP also released some contract crews so they can respond to assist utilities affected by Ida.

The state of Texas is also deploying resources and personnel to support Hurricane Ida response and recovery efforts in Louisiana.

Resources being sent to Louisiana include a CH 47 (Chinook) Helicopter, 14 crew members, 30 Type 1 Fire Engines, and 132 firefighters through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS). Texas A&M Task Force One is also on the ground to provide urban search and rescue capabilities.