Power companies work to return service after ice storm

This week’s ice storm is turning into a major event for electricity providers, such as Northcentral Electric Cooperative and Entergy

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Northcentral reported 101 separate outages affecting 2,106 members.  The cases have grown in number during the day and were expected to continue into the evening.

Trees and limbs have torn down lines and also blocked access for those working to restore power. According to Northcentral, “We believe that our system is in good shape since we have replaced nearly half of our poles over the past two years. Restoration efforts have been steady and slow. But as one outage is restored, another is reported. We expect this to continue over the next 24 hours.”

The report from Northcentral said they are not able to provide an accurate estimate of restoration times and it is possible some of the outages will last into the weekend.  They are getting help from other cooperatives in getting electricity flowing again, however.   

An MDR Powerline Construction contract crew was working during the night along with crews from Natchez Trace Electric Power Association and Twin County Electric Power Association arriving in the morning. Two crews from 4-County Electric Power Association and crews from Pontotoc Electric Power Association and North East Mississippi Electric Power Association have been assisting Thursday and will do so again on Friday. Combined with Northcentral employees, we will have a work force exceeding 200 people working this storm. 

Another issue for Northcentral members has been difficulty getting through to report outages, which the cooperative said is believed to be due to a high traffic volume.  Northcentral asks that members continue to try to get through by phone at 662-895-2151 or use the “Report an Outage” link at the bottom left of the cooperative’s outage map. 

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, Entergy reported 4,108 customers without power in DeSoto County, a number that has also grown during the day.  The majority of that number has been in the Hernando area, where 2,379 customers with the 38632 ZIP Code were without power. A total of 10,795 Entergy customers in Mississippi were without power as of 5 p.m.  Customers can also check the status of power outages on the Entergy Outage Map.  

This is a developing story, check back for updates