Cleco has announced the completion of a stronger electric grid in the Terrebonne-St. Mary area.
Cleco and Entergy customers are served by the grid, which is connected to a new 36-mile, storm-hardened transmission line that will strengthen service reliability for customers across southeast Louisiana.
The new 230 kV line stretches from Gray to Patterson on steel structures designed to withstand winds between 130 to 150 mph. Entergy Louisiana’s portion of the project, which runs for 24 miles from the Terrebonne substation near Gray to a point at Bayou Boeuf near Amelia, was completed in May of 2018. Cleco constructed the remainder of the line between the interconnection near Amelia and its Bayou Vista substation near Patterson. Work on that section of the line was completed in March of 2019.
On April 17, Cleco and Entergy Louisiana worked together to successfully energize the entire line.
“The project will improve power reliability and resiliency during hurricanes for customers in south Louisiana and is the second phase of three efforts by Cleco to harden the south Louisiana bulk power system,” said Bill Fontenot, president and CEO of Cleco. “Cleco’s first effort connected Eunice to west New Iberia. The third, and final phase, will connect Patterson through St. Mary Parish. These efforts will help us better serve our customers.”
“This project is one part of Entergy Louisiana’s multi-phased resiliency project that will help strengthen our grid, improve reliability and support growth for the entire state,” said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. “Our partnership with Cleco on the Terrebonne to Bayou Vista project was essential to meeting today’s power demands and helps to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of energy to our customers.”
