Power to be restored to New Orleans by middle of next week

“Please know that thousands of employees and contractors are currently in the field working day and night to restore power.” Rod West, a group president for utility operations

NEW ORLEANS — Power should be restored to New Orleans by the middle of next week, utility officials said Friday, and sheriff’s deputies warned people returning to communities outside the city to come equipped like survivalists because of the lack of basic services in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

The storm knocked out electricity to more than 1 million customers in Louisiana, but almost all lights in the city should be back on by Wednesday, according to Entergy, the company that provides power to New Orleans and much of southeast Louisiana in the storm’s path.

The utility issued a statement asking for patience and acknowledging the heat and misery in the storm’s wake. More than 25,000 workers from 40 states are trying to fix 14,000 damaged poles, more than 2,200 broken transformers and more than 150 destroyed transmission structures.

“Please know that thousands of employees and contractors are currently in the field working day and night to restore power. We will continue working until every community is restored.” said Rod West, a group president for utility operations.

The outlook was bleaker south and west of the city, where Ida’s fury fully struck. The sheriff’s office in Lafourche Parish cautioned returning residents about the difficult situation that awaited them — no power, no running water, little cellphone service and almost no gasoline.

“Residents can return to the parish outside of curfew times but are advised to come prepared with all provisions necessary to self-sustain,” deputies wrote on Facebook.

The utility offered no promises for when the lights will come back on in the parishes outside New Orleans, some of which were battered for hours by winds of 100 mph (160 kph) or more.

President Joe Biden arrived Friday to survey the damage. He met with local officials and toured a neighborhood in LaPlace, a community between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain that suffered catastrophic wind and water damage that sheared off roofs and flooded homes. The president also planned a flyover tour of other hard-hit communities, including Lafitte, Grand Isle, Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish.

“I promise we’re going to have your back,” Biden said at the outset of a briefing by officials.