Around 4,000 New Orleans residents in Mid-City and Navarre lost power as winds from Hurricane Isaias swept through the area, with outages peaking around 1:30 p.m. before crews began chipping away at the restoration work. By the afternoon, the number had fallen to roughly 2,500 customers still in the dark.
According to NOLA.com, Entergy New Orleans spokesperson Beau Tidwell said Entergy was aware of the outage and crews were working to restore service. Outage maps cited in that report showed 1,738 customers without power as of 2:50 p.m. WDSU reported that an Entergy statement described an outage impacting customers in Mid-City and nearby neighborhoods. The station also reported approximately 2,500 customers affected, down from 4,000 at peak, and noted Entergy was tracking more than 3,000 customers without power across Southeast Louisiana as the storm moved through the Gulf Coast.
Cause Still Under Investigation
Tidwell said the cause of the outage is under investigation but is believed to be related to high-wind impacts, the station's report states. Crews, he added, are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore service. Entergy crews are working to restore service, though the exact timeline for full restoration has not been confirmed.
Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it approached the Florida Panhandle, even as the New Orleans area was expected to experience only minimal direct impacts. Still, wind gusts near 40 miles per hour were expected in New Orleans, with gusts potentially exceeding that mark closer to landfall, per the same NOLA.com account. Senior meteorologist Damon Singleton, writing for the outlet, tracked the storm's path as it churned through the region.
Storm Warnings Stretched Along the Coast
A Tropical Storm Warning from the National Hurricane Center was in effect along the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish Line, stretching toward Ocean Springs, Mississippi, according to the National Hurricane Center. Ahead of the storm, Entergy said it was closely monitoring Tropical Storm Isaias in the Gulf and preparing for severe weather that could affect its Louisiana service territory. The utility also said its crews were ready to respond quickly and safely once conditions allowed, per its storm center update.
A Pattern of Outages Beyond This Storm
This week's outages land against a backdrop of broader reliability concerns raised earlier this year. More than one-third of the 716 power outages Entergy reported in New Orleans during the first three months of the year were caused by equipment failures, according to The Lens. From April through July, more than 17,000 Entergy households experienced outages totaling more than 12,000 hours without power, the outlet reported — figures that notably exclude hurricanes and severe weather events classified as Major Event Days, which are exempt from the utility's standard reporting requirements.
Entergy New Orleans has pointed to its Accelerated Resilience Plan as a response to those concerns. The first phase includes 63 projects throughout the city, and the utility says it is strengthening or replacing 3,100 structures — mainly distribution poles — to withstand winds up to 140 mph, per the same report. Separately, after Tropical Storm Bertha, at least 1,200 Entergy customers lost power Uptown between Freret and Tchoupitoulas streets.
