Sour Lake, Texas – Entergy Texas, Inc. has set an aggressive schedule of tree-trimming in 2010 that continues here when a team of trimmers goes to work on a power line serving more than 1,000 Sour Lake area customers.

Beginning Monday, Feb. 15, some 1,214 Entergy Texas customers can expect to see crews begin working to trim vegetation away from power lines served by a substation at the corner of Herring Road and South Ann Street.

The work is expected to last about eight to 10 weeks, depending on weather.

A team of tree-trimmers will cut back vegetation from the 55.8-mile long circuit that provides power to customers in an area north of Old Beaumont Road, Barfield and Herring Road to south of Black Cat Road. The area included in the work also extends from about West Lake Road to Ryan Road.

Special off road equipment will be used, along with aerial baskets and crews who will work manually.

“This is an ongoing part of our cycle vegetation management program,” explained Erin Soto, customer service manager for Sour Lake. “Trimming vegetation is essential to keeping the lights on, so we have a schedule to ensure all power lines get the attention they need.

“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 17,000 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, Manager, Transmission and Distribution Vegetation Management 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.

-30-

Entergy Texas’ online address is entergy-texas.com