Greenwell Springs, LA - In the aftermath of yesterday’s severe weather system that swept through our region, DEMCO crews continue to work through the night to restore power to affected communities.

The peak outage count, reported after the storm passed, reached 26,000 and has since decreased to the current outages of 6,123.

Restoration in Ascension, Livingston, East Baton Rouge, and St. Helena parishes should be completed by nightfall unless new damage is discovered along the way that would extend restoration.

Extensive damage in East and West Feliciana parishes will mean more prolonged outages. A tornado tore through West Feliciana around Tunica and Rosedown Plantation, impacting a twenty-mile stretch of infrastructure.

Large trees and 75-mile-an-hour winds brought down massive electric infrastructure, necessitating the installation of new poles, lines, and transformers to reinstate service. Given the scale of the destruction, the restoration efforts in East and West Feliciana parishes will require significant time and resources.

In addition to the crews already assigned and working in these parishes, once restoration is complete in other areas, all crews will mobilize with additional crews from sister co-ops and with contractors to augment the restoration endeavor in E. and W. Feliciana parishes.

DEMCO urges affected members to exercise caution around downed power lines. To view outages and restoration progress, visit DEMCO.org/storm-center.