Caddo, Bossier And Desoto Reporting Swepco Outages

The brunt of the cold front hitting our area has yet to peak and we're already experiencing some problems with electricity.  As of 7:25 this morning more than 1,000 SWEPCO customers in Caddo Parish were without power and additional outages are being reported on Swepco's Outages Map in Bossier Parish and Desoto Parish and in portions of East Texas and Southern Arkansas.

AEP SWEPCO spokesman, Scott McCloud said that several circuits at substations along North Market in Shreveport were locking out causing the problem.  He said that the "lock out" is a safety precaution in place at each substation which forces circuits to lock down when there is an obstruction in or on the line.  Several SWEPCO crews have been dispatched to the substations to determine the exact cause of the obstruction and lock outs. McCloud says once the situation is properly diagnosed, repairs will immediately begin, but he gave no time table as to when that might happen.