Power company Entergy has announced that as of Aug. 28, it has canceled the scheduled periodic power outages across its service area in Southeast Texas.

According to Entergy Senior Communications Specialist Allison Payne, reliability coordinator Midcontinent Independent System Operator cancelled the order around midnight and Texas customers are no longer being asked to reduce their energy usage.

"We understand many of our customers were affected by these outages and how inconvenient and frustrating it can be," Payne said. "These steps were only a last-resort measure taken to ensure the overall stability of the electric grid."

While the periodic outages occurred, around 60,000 Entergy customers were left without power Aug. 27.

Payne said additional steps have been taken to improve the integrity of the electrical grid in southeast Texas, including placing a high-voltage power line back into service and starting up units at Sabine Station, a power plant along the Texas and Louisiana state lines.


"While this power plant was in the direct path of Hurricane Laura, it suffered minimal damage, and crews were able to complete the start up this morning," Payne said. "This adds a generation to the Texas area that allows us to serve additional load."

Payne said Entergy's transmission system suffered significant damage due to Hurricane Laura, and the grid as a whole remains fragile, but rotating outages are no longer required at this time.

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough posted to Facebook that he plans to keep county residents updated if any changes from Entergy occur.

If customers are still out due to these outages, they are encouraged to call 1-800-ENTERGY.