NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy linemen continue repairing damage caused by Tropical Storm Lee as the storm edges closer to the Louisiana coast Saturday evening. As of 5 p.m., 11,558 Entergy customers in Louisiana were without power.

While that number is down from Saturday's initial high of approximately 38,000 outages, the storm's continued strong winds and heavy rains are slowing restoration efforts and causing additional outages. Crews are unable to work in bucket trucks when winds reach a sustained speed above 35 miles per hour.  

Forecasters predict Lee will move slowly across southern Louisiana throughout the Labor Day weekend, bringing more severe weather and new outages. Most of the currently affected customers are in scattered pockets throughout south Louisiana.

"This event is just beginning and we want customers to know that we are safely working as quickly as possible to restore power," said Dennis Lytle, operations manager for Louisiana. "However, the safety of our customers and employees is first priority. We appreciate everyone's patience during this storm situation."

The company reminds customers to stay away from downed power lines and to call 1-800-9OUTAGE toll-free to report electric or gas outages. Customers can also visit the Entergy Storm Center website at entergystormcenter.com for the latest updates and outage information.

Entergy urges customers to monitor the storm and to prepare to implement their own storm plans if needed.

Additionally, the company has prepared for customers a severe weather guide that contains a wealth of information related to preparing for a storm. Operation: Storm Ready can be accessed at entergystormcenter.com.

Entergy New Orleans, Inc. is an electric and gas utility serving Orleans Parish and is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. The company provides electricity to more than 160,000 customers and natural gas to more than 100,000 customers in Orleans Parish.

Entergy's Louisiana utility companies serve more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are part of Entergy Corporation's electric system serving 2.7 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

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http://www.entergystormcenter.com