Brazos Valley Entergy Customers Power Up
Brazos Valley Entergy Customers Power Up Save Email Print
Posted: 4:50 PM Sep 17, 2008
 Last Updated: 8:00 AM Sep 18, 2008
 Reporter: Joe Brown
Email Address: brown@kbtx.com
44 comments
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After nearly five days of darkness, Entergy customers across the Brazos Valley are getting their electricity restored.

The first to power up this afternoon was Caldwell, Somerville and Burleson County.

In Robertson County, Bremond is back up. Franklin was too for about an hour before losing electricity.

County Judge Art Henson says Madisonville is at about 50 percent with the downtown square and courthouse back in business. North Zulch also has electricity.

In Grimes County, Navasota and Anderson powered up after 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Also, parts of Walker County, Conroe , The Woodlands and other parts of Montgomery County now have electricity.
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Posted by: Anonymous Location: Grimes County on Sep 23, 2008 at 02:43 PM
If Grimes County voted for someone other then Billy Bob and uncle Buckshot. We would have not been in the dark so long. We have lights now. Lets us walk toward it this time. Thank you Brazos valley once again for help us. Please find are elected county and city officials. Tell them it is OK to return. The heavy work is done.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 21, 2008 at 08:17 AM
"As long as Entergy is here, we have no choice." You mean "as long as the Normangee City Council decides on your provider, you have no choice; if they CO give you a choice, will you choose to buy Entergy's electricity from Entergy or to buy Entergy's electricity from the CoOp with a handling charge tacked on, or to buy the electricity the Co Op is buying from T-Bone Pickers windfarms at twice the price?
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 20, 2008 at 03:42 PM
Iola has power!!!!!
Posted by: Give me a break! Location: Grimes County on Sep 20, 2008 at 10:35 AM
"Grimes County has been in the dark for years. Why do they need power anyway?" This coming from a BRYAN resident. Hahaha!
Posted by: Jo Location: Normangee on Sep 20, 2008 at 07:53 AM
Steve Ogden, get Entergy out of Texas, we want a choice of who the power is from. As long as Entergy is here, we have no choice. The poles and lines have been here for ever and ever. Ride down hwy. 39 and look at poles that are falling.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Caldwell on Sep 20, 2008 at 07:48 AM
Since everyone is still wining I might as well join in & ask who's going to reimburse me for the gas for my generator's so I could keep my beer cold & my steak's warm!
Posted by: To wishin on Sep 20, 2008 at 06:34 AM
"TY sen Ogden, for your help on getting power back that should have been on no later than two days after this.As an Entergy customer Iam not Happy" It COULD have been on Sunday if SYNTERGY and the PUC had been willing to suspend their rule against selling power to Entergy. The only reason the rule was put into place was to prevent Entergy from reselling Texas power in Louisiana, and with all the east Teaxs towers down, they KNEW that wasn't going to happen. So they could have suspended that rule Saturday afternoon. But they didn't suspend the rule till Steve complained Tuesday night, hoping to pick up customers from Entergy. And it sounds like their tactic works for you...
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Bryan on Sep 19, 2008 at 04:35 PM
Grimes County has been in the dark for years. Why do they need power anyway?
Posted by: Lights Out Location: Iola on Sep 19, 2008 at 03:57 PM
To AG in College Station: We'll provide the extension cord if you supply the electricity.
Posted by: No Name Location: Iola on Sep 19, 2008 at 01:36 PM
We are only concern like the rest of the area about the power in our town and when we can expect it back on.
Posted by: No Name on Sep 19, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Some people can be so rude when it comes to other people. The people in Iola have not hurt you why make comments that are stupid and uncalled for. Thanks Iola for being understanding and remembering the old saying names will never hurt us.
Posted by: Bill Location: Navasota on Sep 19, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Now we have power in Navasota. We need to get our citizens to get off welfare, stay in school and work. If we do not. The same thing will happen in the next hurricane. Navasota citizen's will be standing around drinking malt liquor, hoping the ice will hold out, and waiting for someone else to to the work.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Anderson on Sep 18, 2008 at 08:41 PM
Not everyone in Anderson has power yet.
Posted by: Wishin I had Syntergy Location: Grimes on Sep 18, 2008 at 08:24 PM
TY sen Ogden, for your help on getting power back that should have been on no later than two days after this.As an Entergy customer Iam not Happy, I didnt see an entergy truck till the 17th, and yet Syntergy/Mid south had theres back in just a day or so. Kinda glad they arnt a Tx Company, It's crazy to be with out power for so long with not that bad damage to the area. Now with that said. Thank You to the Lineman, and the others on the front lines makeing it possible, we know you where not responsible for the delay it's upper Mangment again hats off to you. Now for the Sheriff of Grimes County !!!! Don Sowell, Get you some sleep and give the deputie's a break, well I can dream for you all, Thank You for all you did, with protecting the area and cordinating relief efforts. To the Fire Depts, thanks for every thing from removing down trees, to getting Ice to the Sourthern end, to those in the North end cooking meals. Fine Job Grimes County you made it work. Proud of you.County EMS Great
Posted by: Entergy Appreciators Location: Franklin on Sep 18, 2008 at 06:39 PM
Thank you Entergy employees for the countless hours you spent restoring our power. We know the situation was dangerous and overwhelming at first glance. After facing a possible 3 week outage, the 5 days it ended up being was a blessing. Here in Franklin we appreciate your efforts.
Posted by: AG Location: College Station on Sep 18, 2008 at 06:32 PM
Would someone please go and plug in the extension cord in Iola? We are all tired of hearing about them.
Posted by: anonymous Location: milam county on Sep 18, 2008 at 04:25 PM
TO: Paul Location: Navasota and no name Location: caldwell You both are missing two points here. The first point is that most, if not all, of Entergy customers do not have any choice who provides their electricity. Those who are fortunate enough to have Texas-based companies as their power providers have the luxury of being part of the ERCOT Grid, therefore they would not be w/o power as long as Entergy customers. Entergy, which provides power outside of Texas as well as Texas, is not allowed by law to be part of ERCOT. Ogden forced cooperation between Entergy and the Texas-based ERCOT Grid companies to provide power or you still would be w/o power. So, the first point is: We should have a choice of energy providers or Entergy should be required/allowed, as the case may be, to be part of ERCOT. The other point, PAUL, is that we in Central Texas should not be w/o power just because a storm hits the coast and Entergy's infrastructure is located along the coast.
Posted by: Debbie Location: Iola on Sep 18, 2008 at 03:45 PM
Iola is still in the dark too! I guess the Iola VFD, the churches and the town's folks have done such a great job of taking care of everyone there that we have been forgotten. Thanks to everyone in Iola that has been lending a helping hand. Your community is well pleased with all you have done. Thanks also to Don Sowell and his deputies for the extra patrolls to keep us all safe. Y'all have all been doing above and beyond.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: iola on Sep 18, 2008 at 03:35 PM
When is Iola going to get power?
Posted by: no name Location: caldwell on Sep 18, 2008 at 03:04 PM
I believe that everyone that has whined about no power and blamed Entergy for not getting it up sooner are idiots. We were all told it could be weeks and It took just 5 days to be back up and running. You CANNOT blame Entergy for this. THIS is nothing but Mother Nature at her worst. We were told to be prepared for the worst, including power outage, no water, etc. If you failed to head that warning than you have noone to blame but yourself. I have heard nothing but complaints when I have friends whose whole life is now in a 20-foot goose neck trailer because their home was destroyed. WE should all be thanking God that all we were was just a little inconvenieced and was not hit any harder.
Posted by: Citizen Location: Caldwell on Sep 18, 2008 at 02:06 PM
I say thank you to whoever put the pressure on Senator Ogden. Maybe some big company in Burleson County?? Why do you think that all of a sudden Austin started worrying about the little people in Caldwell. Not likely. More likely that a rather larger group caused this to get rolling. While I appreciate Senator Ogden's support, please note that he was only the mouthpiece, Gov. Perry actually signed the paper. Give some credit where it is due.
Posted by: Kim Location: Normangee Texas on Sep 18, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Can some one please update the residents of Normangee Texas on the power outage. We have been out since Saturday AM. Any news would be appreaicated!!
Posted by: Brenda Location: Iola on Sep 18, 2008 at 12:58 PM
What about Iola has the power been restored.
Posted by: Gause Location: Milam County on Sep 18, 2008 at 11:42 AM
RE: Annonymous 9:52 pm The statement was in reference that Gause/Milam County was not included in the story. The latter was in reference that unincorportated communities and rural homesteads/ranches do not have a CHOICE in who their electric provider is and how can that be changed? Now that the situation has been fixed, maybe we can look ahead to understand and avoid the mess in the future. Several local small unincorported communities had trouble getting the attention of the media or large corps because we don't have a goverment except at the county level. And if you are the one small community in the corner of your county..you can get lost in the shuffle. Especially when the rest of your county has power from other sources.
Posted by: Yolanda Location: Bryan on Sep 18, 2008 at 10:19 AM
To Paul in Navasota: Very well stated!! There's nothing wrong with telling the truth!! You did that!!...lol
Posted by: Tammy Location: Washington,Tx on Sep 18, 2008 at 09:51 AM
Thanks to all those that helped with getting the power back on for everyone! Thanks to GOD for blessing us with cool weather during the power loss.
Posted by: ChickE Location: Navasota on Sep 18, 2008 at 09:27 AM
Ohhh La La!!! Electricity!!!! You go Steve Ogden!!!! You have my vote!!!
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Navasota on Sep 18, 2008 at 09:25 AM
Thanks to all that have helped and supported us through our time of need. I do however want to say that people in the Brazos Valley should be thankful that we were just without power because some peopple from Galveston have nothing to return to.
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Anderson on Sep 18, 2008 at 07:18 AM
Thank you Steve Ogden for your help. I sure was happy to see lights in Anderson last night. First good night of sleep that I've had in 6 days.
Posted by: Paul Location: Navasota on Sep 17, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Thank you Entergy. I am a Midsouth Customer in Navasota, and I have had power since Saturday afternoon. I have seen you guys and your contracted help all over the place, working all hours this last week. It is not like it is Entergy's fault that they couldn't get backfed power until now. Stop bashing Entergy and be thankful you don't live further east where fifty foot tall transmission lines towers are crumpled up, laying over, and otherwise destroyed. But I forget these are the same people who get on here and bash Bryan, bash police, bash government officials, and anything else they can. There are too many unhappy people in the Brazos Valley, and every last one of them has a keyboard!
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 09:52 PM
To Gause...WHAT??? Your comment makes no sense at all..slow down, calm down and repost a sensible comment that we can actually understand.
Posted by: Thankful Resident Location: Navasota on Sep 17, 2008 at 09:47 PM
Thank you Steve Ogden! You never realize how spoiled a society we are until we are without AC, internet, cable, and just the basic lights! I thank God for the cool air that made it tolerable. . . uncomfortable, but tolerable!
Posted by: Anonymous Location: Stoneham on Sep 17, 2008 at 09:31 PM
My parents and grandparents are in Stoneham and STILL without power. Do we know how much longer they are going to have to wait?
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 09:17 PM
What about Shiro???????
Posted by: Resident Location: Burleson County on Sep 17, 2008 at 08:47 PM
Thanks to Everyone who has been involved in getting the power back on...Sure there were hard times without the power, We have not had this happen too often,people should be greatful and thank the Lord .Just think about the people who lost every thing they had,,, Thanks again to all involved in getting the power on and all the people who also assisted with providing hot meals..God bless each and every one of you...
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 08:32 PM
Last report on the radio was that 66% of their customers do not have power. Down from 99%
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 07:38 PM
Yeah, Caldwell is up an running. Now we don't have to listen to them whine!
Posted by: AG Location: College Station on Sep 17, 2008 at 07:10 PM
This whole thing is Obama's fault. If he wasn't such an arrogant elitist with so many supporters in SE Texas, IKE would have turned towards Mexico. This is exactly why you should vote for McCain.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 06:45 PM
Amazing what a little publicity on the PUC can accomplish... All you folks need to remember that you could have had power back two days ago if ERCOT and been willing to deal with an "out of grid" competitor who has bailed them out on numerous occasions.
Posted by: Linda Location: Somerville on Sep 17, 2008 at 06:08 PM
Thank you
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 05:56 PM
To Joe Brown: There is a great story here that would get a lot of attention from viewers: What happened today that suddenly had Entergy providing electricity to the cities surrounding Brazos County? Entergy has been stating it would be another week or two before these towns had power. Has it been the fault of Entergy, has it been the fault of other electric companies (ERCOT)refusing to provide help, or was it just hard work of the linesmen (and we all agree that they've been giving it their all) that suddenly provided our neigbors with electricity after Senator Ogden got involved. I think most Entergy customers would like to know if they have been pawns of the electric companies or was this all due to Hurricane Ike. Who agrees?
Posted by: AJ Location: Bryan on Sep 17, 2008 at 05:42 PM
Thanks in part to Sen. Ogden for putting the pressure on them to get this restored. Now if Ogden can help with the other counties like Madison and Robertson. KBTX, don't put Entergy's logo on the page, we are not to happy with them and do not want to promote their logo for them. It is not like these people have a choice with energy companies. It is amazing that an electric company like Entergy has no back up system in place and is so susceptible to outages.
Posted by: Anonymous on Sep 17, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Way to go! Glad to see the power coming back on!
Posted by: Caldwell Location: Caldwell on Sep 17, 2008 at 04:58 PM
Thank you Steve Ogden. Your the man.
Posted by: Gause Location: MILAM COUNTY on Sep 17, 2008 at 04:57 PM
WHAT ABOUT GAUSE?????? You know that little community in the SE corner of Milam County! HOw about a news story KBTX....why small unincorporated communites (and even towns) do not have a electric company choice? How do you have a choice if you aren't incorportated.
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