In a statement released on August 29, 2021, Entergy, a utility that serves customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, said Hurricane Ida caused the utility to lose all eight transmission lines delivering power into New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds. In addition to the eight major transmission lines, 216 substations, over 200 smaller lines, and more than 2,000 miles of transmission lines were put out of service by the hurricane. Hurricane Ida also toppled a 400-foot tower that withstood Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The loss of transmission led to a load imbalance, ultimately resulting in generation dropping offline. According to the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), nearly 1.2 million electricity customers in Louisiana and Mississippi were left without power the morning of August 30, 2021. As of September 1, 2021, Entergy has restored power to more than 107,000 customers in Eastern New Orleans with generation supplied by the New Orleans Power Station, a 128 MW gas-fired power plant.[2] The utility noted that full restoration will take time due to the significant damage across the region.

[1] https://www.entergynewsroom.com/storm-center/article/entergy-system-hurricane-ida-update-8-30-21-10-m/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=entergy&utm_campaign=Power+Outages%2FRestoration&utm_content=5392617605

[2] https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/entergy-restores-107-000-customers-in-mississippi-louisiana-new-orleans-service-areas/