Entergy Louisiana has made power available to nearly 90% of the essential customers in southwest Louisiana that can safely accept it, including most hospitals and water and waste treatment plants.

Crews expect to make power available to most customers affected by Hurricane Laura by Sept. 23. They expect to restore power to the remaining customers who can safely receive it by Sept. 30.

Faced with an extended restoration timeline, Entergy’s storm team developed a creative solution to accelerate the restoration of power to portions of north Lake Charles by the end of this weekend.

Approximately 8,700 workers remain focused on restoration efforts in Southwest Louisiana.