Most expected to have power back by end of day, Entergy says

By ArkansasOnline

Entergy estimates that most customers will have power restored by the end of Sunday, but some of the more difficult cases will take as long as Monday to restore after the snowstorm that dumped more than a foot of snow on some parts of the state.

Crews are working to repair damage, but access to some areas is a problem, particularly in the Mountain View, Mount Ida and Glenwood areas where there is up to 10 inches of snow on the ground and the terrain is extremely rugged.

Customers are warned to stay away from downed power lines. A power line could still be energized even though it is on the ground. Outages and potentially dangerous situations should be reported to Entergy by calling 1-800-9OUTAGE (1-800-968-8243).

The Mountain View power failure is the result of a fault on the transmission line serving that town. Workers on the ground have scouted about half of the line but have found no damage. A helicopter was dispatched earlier but had to turn back because of the bad weather. The investigation continues.

For customers who would like to speak with an Entergy representative face-to-face, Entergy Arkansas is opening Customer Information Centers in Mountain View and Flippin. Both will be open 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and possibly the same hours Sunday. The Mountain View customer information center will be at the Stone County Courthouse and the Flippin location will be Flippin City Hall.

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to 680,000 customers in 63 counties.

For more information see Sunday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.