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Entergy Says Vegetation and Aging Poles Behind Tarrytown ‘Blue‑Sky’ Outages; Council Seeks Prioritization
Summary
Entergy Louisiana told the Jefferson Parish Council that 22 outages hit Tarrytown in 18 months, citing vegetation, old poles and equipment issues; the utility described pole replacements, new AT&T pole transfers, trip-savers and substation work and promised continued work while council members pressed for clearer prioritization.
Entergy Louisiana representatives briefed the Jefferson Parish Council on Oct. 22 about repeated power outages in the Tarrytown area and steps the utility has taken to improve reliability.
Jimmy Aiken of Entergy said the company identified 22 outages in Tarrytown over the past 18 months, many of them on sunny days and attributable to vegetation intrusion, lightning strikes and failing poles and cross-arms. He said crews performed comprehensive walk-throughs on the affected feeders, replaced several critical poles (including poles in rear yards at Heritage Avenue and Cranberry), installed multiple ‘trip savers’ (devices that isolate small sections of line to reduce customer interruptions), and coordinated pole transfers with AT&T to reduce joint-pole failures.
Aiken said Entergy has changed about 3,000 poles parish-wide year-to-date, with another 500 planned for the following year and additional work in design for specific feeders expected to complete by December. He cautioned there is no definitive timetable to eliminate all outages but said “you will see an immediate impact” from recent work.
Council members pressed Entergy on why only a limited set of poles were replaced in the Tarrytown hotspot and sought a plan to ensure long-standing vegetation and right-of-entry obstacles do not prevent required trimming. Councilman Kerner requested quarterly progress reports on the company’s work in Tarrytown and asked Entergy to clarify priorities for hardening projects; Aiken agreed to keep the council updated and to continue attending civic-association meetings.
The exchange did not result in a formal vote; council members publicly thanked Entergy for attending and emphasized the need for continued responsiveness to constituents.
