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Thursday, June 16, 2005
News Article From Blackout
Thousands of customers lose power in SE Texas
A problem at Entergy's Lewis Creek power plant in Willis preceded the massive power outage.
By The AP and ABC13 Eyewitness News
(6/15/05 - HOUSTON) — All of the nearly 100,000 customers who lost power in Southeast Texas have had their power restored.
Entergy Texas has determined that high winds from a storm caused several transmission lines to fail simultaneously Wednesday night.
Then, as a precautionary measure to protect the mechanical system, the power plant shut down.
"That shut down almost automatically," Entergy Texas spokesman David Caplan said.
However the power company rerouted transmission lines and had power back to all customers by 11 p.m. Wednesday.
As workers stabilize the system, Entergy has asked its customers to conserve electricity Thursday. For example, customers could set their air conditioning units at 78 instead of 68, Caplan said.
Caplan didn't know the status of the prisons that were forced into lockdown Wednesday night.
The outage affected Montgomery, Trinity, Liberty, Waller, Polk, San Jacinto and Grimes counties.
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No terrorism
The lights went out around 7pm across Montgomery County. And it was strange to drive down I-45 and other roads without street lights. Many people were concerned about a possible terror attack. That was not the case. When word spread that the problem stemmed from the transmission problems at the power plant, some were relieved.
"It scared the living heck out of me. My mom and dad were worried," said resident Charles Tutter. I’m a country boy. I've lived without power before. I'll do it again."
Search for supplies
The blackout sent people looking for supplies.
Many headed to a Wal-Mart in New Caney and found the lights out. Employees were sent in to save frozen food, dairy and produce. As long as the stuff stayed under 40 degrees, it would be OK.
There's no word yet on how much business that store lost.
Concerns about looting
The huge power outages caused many worries for many business owners in the area. Some of them left their homes and headed for their businesses near Conroe, concerned about possible looting. But it turns out they had nothing to worry about as the power had been restored when they arrived. It also reminded many not to take lighting and air conditioning for granted.
"It really makes you conscious, no question, to see it so dark in the parking lot and it lets you know how dependant you are on it," said one business owner we spoke with.
There were no reports of any looting.
Driving treacherous
Traffic lights went black along parts of I-45 and area highways and residential streets. The sight of headlights and break lights lit up the area. Some drivers were cautious and slowed down. Others say without any lights at intersection, it was chaos. Drivers also headed to get gas for their cars and for their generators. Some came up empty. Stores had already run out.
Hospital goes into disaster mode
The power problems also affected the Conroe Regional Medical Center. The sign outside the facility went dark. As a precaution, employees worked on internal disaster mode and used generators. Ambulances were on drive-by status for a while, but around 10:45pm, all the power was restored. We're told patient care was not affected.
Prison lockdown
Texas prisons affected by the outage went into lockdown mode when the power went out. The Walls unit in Huntsville, which houses Texas' death row, worked on back-up generator power. Corrections officers moved inmates into a central area to better keep an eye on them. It's not known if this included the condemned killers on death row.
Posted by Catwmn ::
8:54 AM ::
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