6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2024 –
Storms that swamped many areas of the Ark-La-Tex as a result of relentless rain, damaging winds and flooding conditions also damaged SWEPCO’s energy system and disrupted power to thousands across the Ark-La-Tex region.
As a result, SWEPCO joined forces with crews from its sister utilities including Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and AEP Texas to support the restoration effort.
Extensive flooding and hard-to-reach, sometimes treacherous terrain, requires crews and contractors to use specialized track equipment to access the areas. Please be assured crews are working to get every customer who can receive power back on.
Already, crews have leveraged resources on the ground, in the air and on boats to safely access remote and often hard to reach areas to make repairs.
In the Longview area, crews have secured water patrols in heavily flooded areas. In the Texarkana area, crews coordinated with railroad companies to temporarily halt rail traffic to enable crews to safely access and complete repairs to local water systems in Nash, Texas since early afternoon. Early damage assessments in the Natchitoches area showed downed power lines, broken poles and fallen trees with repairs needed in heavily wooded areas with saturated ground. Similarly, many of those repairs will require specialized equipment.
Flooding creates a unique and dangerous restoration environment. Flooding can make it more difficult to safely make repairs, which may result in longer than usual power restoration times.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, April10 approximately 19,000SWEPCO customers are without power. Our crews are committed to getting all remaining customers who can receive power back on.
Crew Support
Additional crews from SWEPCO’s Fayetteville district and SWEPCO’s sister operating companies, AEP Texas, and Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), are assisting with our efforts to restore service to our communities as safely and quickly as possible.
By The Numbers
At the peak of the storm’s impact, approximately 35,000 customers were without power. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, 18,000 customers have had their power restored.
SWEPCO has provided estimated restoration times for areas impacted by the storm. However, service could be restored sooner.
Customers who signed up for email or text alerts could receive direct updates on the estimated restoration time at their home or business as crews continue working to restore power. To sign up to receive your personalized restoration update, visit swepco.com/alerts.
We estimate power will be restored to 95 percent of customers by these times:
| Arkansas | Louisiana | Texas |
| 11:59 p.m. WednesdayTexarkana area, including Nashville. | 10 pm. WednesdayBossier City area | Vivian area | Plain Dealing area10 pm. ThursdayShreveport area6 p.m. FridayNatchitoches area10 p.m. FridayHornbeck | Mansfield | 11:59 p.m. WednesdayTexarkana area, including Mt. Pleasant and Atlanta areas.11:59 p.m. ThursdayHenderson area | Marshall area | Longview area |
SWEPCO’s Restoration Process
The graphic below provides more detail on the key steps our team takes to restore power to all customers, and you can read here for more about this process.
Safety Reminders:
- For your safety and for the safety of our crews, please refrain from approaching them while they are working.
- You can report downed lines and other hazards to SWEPCO at 888-218-3919 or online at https://www.swepco.com/outages/report/.
- Downed power lines – Never touch a downed line, or go near it, no matter how harmless it looks. The line could be energized. Call SWEPCO or 911 immediately.
- Click here for additional safety tips.
Stay Connected
- SWEPCO.com/Alerts for text or email alerts | SWEPCO.com/App.
- SWEPCO.com/Outages/Report or 1-888-218-3919 to report hazards.
For updates and photos, follow SWEPCO on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.