Cleco Rolls Out Largest Ever Grid Resiliency Effort Targeting Outages and Faster Power Restoration
Work is underway across Louisiana as Cleco Power launches its biggest grid modernization campaign in company history aiming to slash outages and accelerate restoration times for nearly 300,000 customers.
The utility giant has unveiled a five-year, multi-state initiative encompassing over 550 projects designed to reinforce the electric grid against storms and infrastructure failures. These upgrades include replacing aging electric equipment, undergrounding vulnerable lines, fortifying utility poles, and raising substations above flood levels in key parishes.
“Our resiliency efforts benefit residential customers, and a portion focus on critical customers like hospitals and emergency services, whose operations are essential during crises,” confirmed Cleco Chief Customer Officer Andre Guillory.
Massive Pole Assessments and Equipment Upgrades Underway
As part of this sweeping effort, Cleco crews are actively assessing and performing maintenance or replacements on more than 700 utility poles in communities including Covington, Eunice, Jeanerette, Lacombe, Madisonville, New Iberia, Pineville, and Slidell. This targeted work aims to shore up the grid’s weakest points before severe weather strikes.
Danny Rider, Cleco’s director of distribution reliability and resiliency, emphasized the broad benefits of these projects. “These upgrades will boost systemwide resilience, reduce storm-related costs, and lead to fewer outages and quicker restoration for our customers,” he said.
Cleco’s Proven Track Record Pushes Resiliency Further
For the past 27 years, Cleco has met or exceeded Louisiana Public Service Commission standards, ensuring customers have power more than 99.9% of the time. This new wave of investments aims to elevate those standards even higher amid increasing weather volatility nationwide, a concern that resonates with residents in Montana and other states grappling with grid reliability challenges.
Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC encompasses Cleco Power LLC, which operates eight generating units with a total capacity of 2,676 megawatts, serving customers both at retail and through wholesale power sales. The infrastructure overhaul signals significant financial commitment to safeguarding communities and critical services.
Nationwide Relevance as Extreme Weather Strains Power Grids
While Cleco’s projects focus on Louisiana, the lessons and technology behind grid hardening have direct relevance for Montana and other states facing increased wildfire risks, flooding, and storms that threaten power infrastructure.
As the energy landscape evolves, the drive to modernize and future-proof the grid has become an urgent priority across the US, making Cleco’s ambitious initiative a bellwether for utilities nationwide.
Montana readers should watch for similar investments in their regions as utilities work to keep the lights on amid shifting climate risks and growing demand for resilient energy systems.
What’s Next?
Cleco will continue expanding its resiliency projects across affected parishes over the next five years, with progress updates expected regularly to showcase milestones. Customers can anticipate fewer storm-caused outages and faster repairs, translating into more reliable daily power service throughout Louisiana.
Andre Guillory: “By strengthening our grid infrastructure now, we’re building a safer energy future for all our customers to count on.”
This major investment underscores the urgent need for grid modernization as extreme weather threatens energy delivery systems across the United States today.
