Friday, Aug. 28, 2 p.m.
Crews are finalizing power restoration for the last outages remaining from Hurricane Laura. We appreciate everyone’s hard work, and we are especially thankful that all the work was done safely and with no accidents or injuries. Some scattered outages, primarily due to thunderstorms, have popped up this afternoon in Tyler County, Hardin County and Polk Counties. Crews are already out there working, and they are responding to these new outages. Thank you, Sam Houston Electric Cooperative members, for supporting your Co-op linemen and all those who work to restore power.
Friday, Aug. 28, 8:45 a.m.
We expect to wrap up Hurricane Laura power restoration efforts around midday today. It is anticipated that the Co-op will receive power to our Beech Creek facilities in Tyler County late this morning. We will then be able to energize lines to Co-op members in that area. Crews are assigned to each remaining outage, and they are working to restore power to those remaining outages. We received good news overnight on generation and transmission in our region, and we do not anticipate being impacted by rolling blackouts today. Thank you again for your patience. And thanks to all the crews who are still working hard to restore power.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m.
Power has been restored to 5,000 Co-op members since this morning. The large scope of the outages throughout Louisiana and Texas has created some unique challenges across the region. The Kountze area is still being impacted by the Entergy rolling blackout. They have not yet given us an estimated time of restoration. In the Beech Creek area of Tyler County, repairs to Sam Houston EC’s lines are complete. Entergy has indicated their repairs are complete as well, and they will re-energize the lines when system load decreases. As of yet, they have not provided an estimated time. To Co-op members who were impacted by the storm, thank you for your patience. And thank you to all those who have reached out to offer support.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 4:30 p.m.
The outlook is still good for restoring power to most of the affected areas in Tyler County and Hardin County this evening. Many trees fell on power lines, breaking poles and crossarms. Repair work continues to progress. The transmission lines that deliver power to Sam Houston EC had some damage as well. We have been in communication with the area transmission provider (Entergy), and they have advised us that the Kountze area is in a temporary rolling blackout that is also affecting Co-op members. When large power outages occur on hot days, it’s a good idea to not turn everything on at once when the power comes back on. Things should smooth out this evening when the temps are not quite so hot. In the meantime, waiting to do laundry or cooking can help avoid the need for rolling blackouts. Turning the thermostat up a degree or two can help as well.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 2:30 p.m.
Power has been restored to approximately 4,000 since early this morning. We expect to restore power to the vast majority of the remaining 3,600 by late this evening. We'll keep you updated. Thank you for your patience and support as work continues.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 12 p.m.
Crews are making very good progress restoring power following Hurricane Laura. Trees are being removed. Broken poles and crossarms are being replaced, and lines are going back up. Power was restored to approximately 300 in the Kountze area shortly before noon. The outlook for making very significant progress today is good. We expect to be able to provide more details regarding estimated restoration times a bit later this afternoon.
Thursday, Aug. 27, 8 a.m.
The western edge of Hurricane Laura impacted Sam Houston EC members primarily in Tyler, Hardin, Angelina, Polk, and Jasper Counties. Our linemen, along with the many who came to assist, are working to restore power safely and efficiently to the 6,000 Co-op members currently affected by outages. Additional information will be posted throughout the day. Follow restoration efforts on our outage map viewer or via our mySamHouston mobile app. Thank you and please stay safe.
Wednesday, August 26, 5 p.m.
Laura is moving a little eastward, but we still anticipate storm related outages, especially on the eastern side of our system (Tyler, Hardin, Liberty, Polk, Angelina counties). As 800 additional linemen and tree crews are headed our way, we’ve been staging poles, transformers and other essential materials in key locations throughout our system. The video clip shows poles being stacked in Tyler County.
Follow the restoration process on our outage viewer.
Outages can be reported by calling 888-444-1207, or via our mySamHouston app. You can also register for two-way outage texting and text “out” to 768482. Click here to learn how to register for outage texting.
If you have a generator, please operate it safely to protect yourself, your family and our line technicians. Learn more here: https://www.samhouston.net/safety-sense/safety-at-home/portable-generators.
Tuesday, August 25 at 5 p.m.
Laura is now taking aim at a southeast Texas landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, but there is still some uncertainty as to exactly where the storm will come ashore. It does appear at this time that the eastern side of Sam Houston EC’s system (Polk, Liberty, Hardin, Tyler, San Jacinto, Jasper counties) could experience large power outages, and scattered outages could occur across the remaining areas of the Co-op’s distribution system. Your Sam Houston Electric Cooperative crew is preparing for all possibilities.
Regardless, we are in full response mode and will remain so until the storm passes and all power is restored.
For information, see the Sam Houston EC outage map viewer on the mySamHouston mobile app or online at www.SamHouston.net. You can also follow us on Facebook.
Outages can be reported:
- By calling 888-444-1207
- Via the mySamHouston mobile app
- By texting “out” to 768482
- For details about setting up outage texting, click here.
Safety is our top priority. Please do not attempt to remove trees from power lines. Even downed lines have the potential to be energized, so please stay away.
And if you utilize a generator, please do so safely. Learn more here.
To learn more about how power is restored following a large storm, watch the video below.
Thank you. Be safe, and #PowerOn.
Monday, August 24 at 5 p.m.
As Marco fades, Laura’s path is still projected to lead to landfall in southwest Louisiana late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. If that path holds, there could be power outages primarily on the eastern side of Sam Houston EC’s area (Tyler, Hardin, Liberty, Polk Counties).
Because of some uncertainty regarding Laura’s path, however, Sam Houston EC’s plans include crews, materials, and supplies in place for responding wherever outages may occur across our system.
A good deal of preparation took place this past weekend, and plans will continue to develop as Laura approaches the coast. In the meantime, crews are maintaining their normal construction and work order schedules.
Our live outage map can be accessed on our website, as well as on the mySamHouston mobile app. Outages may be reported via the mySamHouston app, as well as by calling 888-444-1207, and on our website at by logging into your mySamHouston account.
And be sure to register for outage texting via your mySamHouston online account or on our mySamHouston mobile app. Instructions are available here.
If you plan to use a generator, please do so safely. Learn how to keep you and your family safe here: https://www.samhouston.net/safety-sense/safety-at-home/portable-generators
Please check back for updates throughout the week. As always, be safe and #PowerOn.
