By Bonnie Culverhouse
Unfortunately, City of Minden residents are in the dark about when they will be … in the dark. Because of a fire at Entergy’s Gilark substation early Sunday, Minden’s power will be out while the parts and equipment are repaired.
“The short answer to all of this is, I don’t know,” said Minden Mayor Nick Cox. “I don’t know when Entergy will have all their components together, or how long it will take to fix it, but they are responsible for the repairs. Presently, we cannot determine when the outage will occur, nor the anticipated duration.”
Cox said the plan is for Entergy to work at night when they do have their components, so residents will be without power only during the night.
In a press release, Cox said the substation suffered significant damage to a potential transformer, buss and lightning arresters. “In particular, the potential transformer exploded and will need to be repaired urgently.”
Gilark substation is Minden’s only tie to the power grid.
“Some of us went to Gilark Sunday morning and saw the insulators covered in soot,” said the mayor. “I did not know this until that time, but that soot works as an electricity conductor, so it is very dangerous.”
Check back for updates in Webster Parish Journal.
