Beaumont, Texas – The old year is just beginning its exit, but Entergy Texas, Inc. is already taking on 2010 with an aggressive schedule of tree-trimming, all designed to help keep the lights on for Southeast Texans.

Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 15, more than 2,000 Entergy Texas customers here can expect to see crews begin work trimming vegetation away from power lines served by two Beaumont substations. The work is expected to last about nine weeks, depending on weather.

One team will trim power lines served by the Lindbergh Substation on Lindbergh, just north of College. The more than 12-mile circuit that provides power to more than 1,000 customers in an area bounded by the rail yards to the south and North Circuit and Harrison on the north. The area also includes 23rd Street to West Caldwood and West Circuit.

Another team will trim vegetation from power lines served by the Jirou Substation at the corner of Ewing and Long. The 17-mile circuit provides power to some 877 customers in an area south of Interstate 10, north of Calder and west of Willow and Pearl to First Street.

Most of the work requires access to backyards for manual trimming, while the rest can be accessed from the road with aerial buckets.

“The heavy vegetation in this part of Southeast Texas has to be trimmed back from power lines or it can be responsible for power outages,” said Sam Bethea, customer service manager for Beaumont. “We realize it can be inconvenient having workers in the area for an extended period of time, but it’s much less inconvenient than having the power go out at your home or business.”

Last year, Entergy Texas trimmed more than 1,000 line miles of trees and removed more than 15,000 hazard trees from throughout Southeast Texas. A hazard tree is any tree with a structural defect, such as the tree being dead or dying, decayed or leaning. Any of these circumstances could cause the tree to fall into overhead power lines.

“The many storms we’ve had in recent years has taken quite a toll on the trees in Southeast Texas,” explained Matt Kastner, distribution right of way manager for Entergy Texas. “Removing hazard trees remains a priority for us in our efforts to provide reliable service to our customers.”

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to more than 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13 billion and approximately 14,700 employees.

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Entergy Texas’ online address is entergy-texas.com