An estimated 20% of Clarksdale Public Utilities (CPU) customers are still without power after the storms, where the winds reportedly reached 69 miles per hour on Sunday night.
CPU General Manager Curtis Boschert provided an update on the progress made during Tuesday’s board meeting.
After the storm at around 7:45 p.m. on Sunday, Boschert said 80% of the customers were without power. He mentioned that representatives from Grays Power Supply came to Coahoma County to work with CPU.
Boschert stated that once the storm hit, the only substation working was at the CPU plant.
By early Monday morning, Boschert said all four substations were operational and had helped restore power to several customers.
“Our crews stayed out from roughly 8 o’clock on Sunday night until 5 o’clock yesterday evening,” he said.
Boschert estimated that a maximum of 800 to 1,000 CPU customers may still not have power.
“I’m probably erring on the higher side,” he said.
Boschert discussed the process of power restoration.
“Obviously, what we’ve always done is, if we can go close in a fuse and restore power to 200 people, that’s the first thing,” he said. “So we start with the big issues.”
Boschert mentioned that several customers once again had power when all of the substations were operational. He added that CPU was working on circuits on Tuesday, and 20 to 30 customers at a time were having their power restored.
As the process continues, Boschert said that 10 to 20 customers at a time would have their power restored.
Boschert said that CPU was working in areas such as Maple, Iowa, and Indiana Avenue, Issaquena Avenue, and Sixth and Seventh Streets.
“Probably when we’re all said and done with this, we’ll probably replace over 20 poles,” he said.
Boschert estimated that 8 to 10 poles were still down as of Tuesday afternoon.
“Obviously, we don’t like that anybody is out, and we’re working as hard as we can to get people back on as quickly and safely as we can,” he said. “I know it’s hot. It’s frustrating. I know some people’s businesses aren’t able to open, and that hurts them, but we’re doing the best we can, as fast as we can.”
Boschert couldn’t provide a specific day when all customers would have power again, but he feels like there will be a lot of progress this week and doesn’t anticipate bad weather.
“Our crews are out,” he said. “They’ve worked hard. They have good morale about it. They’re out there doing the best that they can.”
The Coahoma County Expo Center and Clarksdale Civic Auditorium are open 24 hours for anyone without power who needs a place to cool off, get water, or charge their phones.
