Oncor sent work crews to Louisiana this morning to support Central Louisiana Electric Co. (CLECO) in its restoration effort. Oncor has been in constant contact with utilities affected by Hurricane Gustav as part of the industry’s mutual assistance effort. CLECO serves approximately 273,000 consumers in 106 communities in central and southeastern Louisiana. Reports state that 50 percent of CLECO’s consumers are without power following Hurricane Gustav’s landfall over the weekend.

CLECO is headquartered in Pineville and serves consumers in 23 of Louisiana's 64 parishes. Oncor worked closely with CLECO during restoration efforts following Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Approximately 200 Oncor employees and contractors from the Oncor system departed early this morning. They headed east to the Pineville/Alexandria area to help in the restoration process.

“Oncor is pleased to help,” said Brenda Pulis, Oncor senior vice president, Distribution. “Now that Gustav has moved inland and utilities in the area know how much damaged has been done, Oncor is prepared to do its part. We are familiar with CLECO’s system because of our work there three years ago restoring power following Hurricane Katrina.”

Oncor and other utilities support each other during emergencies through agreements that ensure affected utilities have the resources they need to restore power as quickly as possible following emergencies.