More than 15,000 without power this morning
Lisa Simpson
More than 15,000 customers were without power this morning as a result of Hurricane Joaquin.
As of 7am, Belco crews were rolling out to begin restoration efforts, according to a spokeswoman for the utility.
“We will first focus on essential services and then move on to restoring the largest areas that are out, at which time thousands of customers will have restored power at once,” she said.
A total of 15,380 customers were out of power at 7am: 6,897 in the central parishes, 3,315 in the eastern parishes and 5,348 in the west parishes.
The spokeswoman added: “We ask the public to please remain off the roads if they can, so that Belco and other essential service crews can move about efficiently to restore power and clear the roads.”
Belco crews were stood down at about 9.30pm last night as the weather conditions deteriorated.
They had been working throughout the day and evening and made good progress restoring areas experiencing power outages, the spokeswoman said.
As of 8.30pm yesterday, 7,503 customers were without power — 3,252 in the central parishes, 2,236 in the eastern parishes and 2,015 in the west.
Residents are asked not to post outage reports on Facebook and Twitter, unless it is an emergency, as engineers are aware of the large areas.
“By calling 955, your call generates a work order. However, if you cannot get through, please be patient, chances are engineers are already aware.
“If you can not get through, know that we are aware of major outages and will respond as the weather permits and as per priorities.”
Belco announced yesterday that it implemented its emergency preparations for response to Hurricane Joaquin with equipment and crews ready in the eastern, western and central locations.
In the event of widespread power outages after Hurricane Joaquin, Belco said restoration work would begin in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
