Customers Urged to Report Suspicious Activities Around Electrical Facilities
Conroe, Texas – In a move that was
both illegal and very dangerous, a thief on Oct. 1 stole copper wiring from a
substation in a rural area off Interstate 45 north of Houston.
In addition to endangering his own life, the thief also put the public and
Entergy Texas, Inc. employees at risk while forcing more than 2,700 residents in
the area to endure a power outage that was necessary to make repairs safely.
Entergy Texas officials are reminding
their customers to report suspicious activities around electrical facilities by
calling local law enforcement. Anyone with information about a past theft may
call the local CrimeStoppers. Entergy Texas works with law enforcement to
investigate and prosecute theft from its facilities.
“Only carefully-trained, safety
conscious Entergy Texas employees have business in our substations,” said Renee
Powers, customer service manager for Conroe. “The substation targeted by a thief
has as much as 138,000 volts of electricity coming into it, many thousands of
times more voltage than can cause death. It only takes a one-second contact with
12 volts at a low current to create a serious heartbeat irregularity. Imagine
what 138,000 volts could do.”
The theft was discovered during an
early substation inspection. The inspector notified the appropriate officials,
and Entergy Texas workers immediately took action to secure the area and begin
the task of planning for and completing repairs.
“As always, the safety of our
employees and the public is our chief concern,” said Shawn Corkran, transmission
and substation grid manager. “A substation employee was posted at the site to
prevent anyone from entering until repairs could be made.”
Once properly trained crews were
assembled and a plan in place, the actual repair was made in about one hour. The
power outage was part of de-energizing the substation which was necessary to
ensure repairs were made safely.
Entergy Texas, Inc. provides
electricity to 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy
Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in
electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and
operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13
billion and approximately 14,700 employees.
-30-
entergy-texas.com
