AEP-SWEPCO again suspends rolling blackouts, prepares for ice storm thatâs threatening ArkLaTex
Some customers use planned outages as a dry run for what could be days without electricity KSLA News 12 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Castle says the next winter storm threatens to dump a devastating quarter inch to half inch of ice on parts of the ArkLaTex. It only takes about a quarter-inch of ice to start causing problems. With accumulations of a half-inch, tree branches break, fall on utility lines and cause power outages. By Curtis Heyen and Jeff Ferrell | February 16, 2021 at 3:57 PM CST - Updated February 16 at 8:03 PM
SWEPCO: All hands on deck ahead of expected winter storm
A spokeswoman for the utility says nearly 400 extra line, tree personnel are on standby SWEPCO prepares for impacts from winter weather (Source: Destinee Patterson) By Destinee Patterson | February 14, 2021 at 5:14 PM CST - Updated February 15 at 6:46 AM
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) â A thousand line and tree personnel are on standby ahead of the expected winter weather in the ArkLaTex, according to Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) spokeswoman Michelle Marcotte.
Of those workers, 370 are additional crews from all over the region.
âTheyâre going to be from nearby utilities - Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,â Marcotte said. âWeâre already anticipating we might need those extra hands.â
Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), is asking all customers to conserve electricity for 48 hours beginning at 12:01 a.m. Monday as extreme cold grips the region.