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DOE Official Assesses Hurricane Isaac Damage

Calls Pace of Restoration Progress "Unbelievable"

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A U.S. Department of Energy official from the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability praised Entergy Corporation for its response to Hurricane Isaac after completing a preliminary inspection of the damage and restoration work in Louisiana.

"The typical benchmark for utility companies is to restore power to 70 percent of customers within five to seven days. The pace of Entergy's restoration, restoring power to 90 percent of its customers in four to five days, is unbelievable," said William Bryan , deputy assistant secretary for infrastructure security and energy restoration.

"This is one of the best restorations we've seen in recent memory and Entergy should be commended," Bryan added.

The entire Gulf Coast region has made tremendous progress rebuilding since Hurricane Isaac made landfall Aug. 28, he said. A preliminary assessment shows the nation's critical oil and gas infrastructure sustained minimal damage while the electrical infrastructure supporting the region is now more than 98 percent restored.

"Although there is still more to do, those involved in restoration efforts should be proud for what was achieved. Your customers were well served," Bryan said.

Entergy Corporation 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, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation