City, hospital get ready for planned power outage Thursday night

Morgan City officials say a planned citywide power outage Thursday night is needed to repair damage that led to an unplanned citywide blackout in March.

The Morgan City government Facebook page announced that the planned outage will begin at 10 p.m. Thursday and will last four to five hours at the longest.

In his own Facebook post, Mayor Lee Dragna described the four- to five-hour estimate is the worst case.

A statement from Ochsner St. Mary said the hospital is prepared for the outage.

The city government said people with medical needs that require electricity, including oxygen therapy, should make preparations in advance.

The March 22 blackout between 11:35 a.m. and 6 p.m. resulted from the same storm system that spawned deadly tornadoes in the New Orleans area. In Morgan City, trees fell on the main line that brings power into the city from Cleco. The damaged portion of the line is between Oceaneering and the Morgan City sewage treatment plant.

Part of the damage was sustained by a ground wire.

The falling trees “caused the breakage of our static line (the little line way on top approximately 125’ off the ground),” Dragna said in his post. “The static line is our protection from lightning strikes.

“If our feed line gets hit by lightning, we will be down for a long time. We have to get this done before hurricanes or lightning storms come.”
Dragna said the 10 p.m. time was chosen in order to be sure the work is done before businesses open Friday morning.

The work can’t be done when power is moving through the line because it carries 100,000 volts, Dragna said

Contractors are coming in to do the work. “We will have everything set up a couple days before they get here and we will assist them to get this done quickly and efficiently,” Dragna wrote.

Ochsner St. Mary said in a statement that it will be business as usual during the upcoming power outage. The hospital will provide all services including emergency care if needed.

“The hospital strives to always be prepared for power outages and patient safety is our highest priority,” the hospital said. “We have two standby generators that are tested weekly. These generators will provide power to the emergency circuits in the hospital. These circuits include life support equipment, patient comfort equipment, lighting, and other necessities.”