• By MARK BALLARD AND JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Sep 6, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Much of the Baton Rouge area should have their lights back on by Monday, but some neighborhoods will be in the dark for another two to three weeks, officials with the two utility companies that service East Baton Rouge Parish said Friday.

The state Public Service Commission, which regulates utility companies, reported that 112,320 of Entergy’s 161,832 customers in Baton Rouge were still without power Friday, and 21,066 customers of DEMCO’s 30,926 customers were down.

Entergy Gulf States plans to open service centers today that would allow customers to get detailed information about when power would be restored to their homes.

DEMCO released a list Friday afternoon that projects when its Baton Rouge customers would get their power restored.

Renae Conley, president and chief executive officer of the Entergy companies that provide service to about 1 million Louisiana residents and businesses, said the customer service centers could help customers plan while 14,000 workers from around the country repair the transformers and substations damaged by Hurricane Gustav on Monday.

“You’ll be able to go and get more specific information: days of restoration, maybe not down to hours of restoration. But it’ll hopefully provide more detail and as the hours go by, we’ll be able to provide better information,” Conley said.

Conley said electricity had been restored to about 350,000 customers. Nearly 900,000 Entergy customers in Louisiana lost power because of the storm.

“If you have been out and about in Baton Rouge, you know we have a lot of crews out there and a lot of customers are coming on,” Conley said.

Brent Bradley, manager of business and member services for DEMCO, said Friday, “As soon as some of our delivery points are established with them, you’ll see some numbers.”

DEMCO spokesman David Latona said 68 percent of its customers remain without power in a seven-parish region in and around Baton Rouge.

“We are asking for patience,” Latona said. “Safety is paramount. The linemen don’t need any distractions.”

There are about 2,000 workers on the ground in crews thanks to extra help from utility co-ops and contractors.

The DEMCO region serves parts of East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes.