Oct. 16, 2007
Update to OASIS item posted June 19, 2007
Transmission Improvements Enhance Texas Service Reliability

Reliable customer service is a major goal for Entergy. Major upgrades to the transmission grid in the company's Texas service aim at keeping customer service at a high level.

Major transmission projects for 2007 include:

South Jefferson County – Improvements to substations, placed in-service April 2007 as a reliability project, allow the substations to carry greater load capacity in the 230 kv system. The increased load capacity was installed to handle future business and industrial expansion in the area. This transmission project carries a direct load out of Entergy's Sabine Plant in Bridge City, Texas

Port Acres Bulk Substation – This customer-owned substation, placed in service in May 2006, is customer-funded and includes two direct lines to Valero and Motiva. The project expanded the substation by installing four new lines, allowing service to switch from 69 kv to 230 kv.

Western Area – Grimes substation, a major intertie to SWEPCO and Tenasco, was placed in service in April 2007. The transmission upgrades at this site improve reliability for the 345 kV intertie and provide redundant backup in the event of a single line failure.

Entergy's transmission unit is also installing animal mitigation in more than 20 substations as protection against snakes, birds, and small animals such as raccoons and squirrels that can cause outages.

Other transmission improvements in Entergy Texas include pole replacement and shield wire upgrades to protect against lightning strikes.

The company is also using infrared scanning devices to locate and repair potential faults before they occur and cause an outage.