The El Dorado City Council received updates and learned more Thursday about efforts by Entergy to repair street light outages around the city.
Chris Wasson, customer service manager for Entergy in El Dorado, addressed the ongoing issue with city officials — all of whom agreed that tackling the problem calls for a team effort between the city, Entergy and El Dorado residents.
The issue has cropped up periodically over the years and council members have advised residents to report street -light outages by recording the utility pole number, which appears on a metal plate that is attached to the pole, and calling the Department of Public Works at 870-863-4344.
Ward 3 Councilmember Andre Rucks again broached the topic during a council meeting last month, saying that he had noticed multiple street lights out in his ward and around town.
Rucks also said he had spoken with Robert Edmonds, director of public works about the matter, and Edmonds put him in touch with Wasson.
Councilmember Judy Ward agreed with Rucks, saying then, “It’s a problem all over town. You’re exactly right. We’ve had problems for years with this.”
Ward has since begun raising awareness about the issue by participating in a public service announcement that can be heard on local radio stations.
Councilmember Willie McGhee previously said he has received numerous complaints about street light outages not being repaired in a timely manner after they have been reported.
Wasson appeared before the council Thursday to respond to such complaints and to educate the council about the process by which Entergy repairs outages for the more than 10,000 street lights in the city.
Toward the end of 2019, Entergy received information about a growing number of street lights that were out, Wasson said.
Per a previous conversation with Rucks, Wasson said 20 additional Entergy workers were dispatched to El Dorado just before Christmas to assist with repairs.
Almost 200 lighting work orders were completed in four days, Wasson said.
“With that, I wanted to just explain the street-light reporting process. It’s a group effort. It really is because no one group can take care of it all by themselves,” he said.
Wasson explained that the utility pole number begins with the letters “SL”, which stand for “street light”, and the letters are typically followed by four digits.
The most effective way to report outages is to record the numbers and call the Department of Public Works, Wasson advised.
“What they do is that they put that on a spreadsheet and we have a lighting coordinator that works with us. They report that to them so that we can keep track of it so that we can make sure of what’s been done and what’s left to be done,” Wasson said.
He said local residents may also report outages to their respective city council representatives.
Ward noted that including a nearby location is required when reporting an outage to public works. Wasson said that while such information is helpful, it is not necessary.
“In our system, I’m able to pull up that street light number and it’ll take me exactly where I need to go,” Wasson said.
McGhee said residents have complained about making multiple calls to City Hall about outages and learning that the issues have been reported to Entergy.
“So it seems like there was either a breakdown in communication or they were expecting a certain timeframe (for repairs to be made),” McGhee said.
Councilmember Michael Rice asked how long it typically takes Entergy to respond to such reports and Wasson said it depends on the existing workflow.
He said power turn-ons for customers are prioritized over street lights. Inclement weather can also affect response times, he said, adding that street-light repairs can take up to a week, at the very least, to tend to due to delays.
“So, weather permitting, if it’s not turned on within a week, should we call back in and report it again?” Councilmember Dianne Hammond.
“I’d say just check back and see and we could probably get a good handle on those writing tickets to see what has been worked and what has not,” Wasson said.
Rucks referred to a previous conversation with Wasson, saying that he was concerned when Wasson reported that Entergy had only 30 active work tickets for street-light outages citywide.
“What that means is actually getting those tickets reported and that’s where the big help is in getting that done. Like I said, group effort — residents, the city. Every little bit helps and everybody working together helps,” Wasson said.
He noted that the utility pole number is about eye level and it usually appears on the front of the pole.
Councilmember Billy Blann pointed out that several street lights that are not working do not have a pole number.
Wasson said that lights without pole numbers that are turned inward and not facing over the street are likely private lights and are not part of the city street-light system.
Sqaure-shaped lights are typically floodlights and also do not fall under the same system as street lights, he noted.
Ward said the city pays Entergy a monthly of rate of $9, whether a street light is “burning or not.”“There is a little variance in that depending on the size of each street light, but if you kind of average it out, you’re pretty close,” Wasson said.