Entergy Corporation

An exemplary utility company in normal times, Entergy Corporation in 2005 faced two unprecedented storms, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which struck within four weeks causing widespread devastation throughout its service territory. Entergy demonstrated foresight, innovation and effective leadership in preparing for and recovering from these extreme natural disasters. Ninety percent of the 1.8 million outages from the storms were restored to power within 10 days.

Taking care of customers took on new urgency after Katrina and Rita. Top priority was safety, coupled with a massive effort to restore power. A 30,000-worker army was assembled, and every customer that could accept power was back in service within 47 days. Besides restoring power, treating traumatized customers with compassion was critical. This included suspending collection activities for a time, postponing cutoffs, and establishing a charitable fund to help displaced customers return home.

"Hope for the best, but plan for the worst" is Entergy's mantra. Every employee has an emergency response role and is expected to know it when the time comes. Entergy was well-prepared before Katrina arrived. The circumstances the 2005 storms ushered in challenged Entergy at every level. The company provided free housing and other necessities to keep 1,500 displaced employees moving forward through the crisis.

Safety for Entergy's employees, contractors and customers is top priority every day, but especially during storm restoration work when potential for injury is particularly high. We firmly believe every accident is preventable, and every worker has a responsibility to look out for every other worker. Entergy had no employee fatalities despite the gigantic, 17,000-square-mile storm restoration effort it mounted in 2005. But three contractors were killed, prompting the company to commit more strongly than ever to its goal of being 100 percent accident free through re-examining procedures and constantly reminding employees to follow safety procedures to the letter.

A detailed environmental response plan was in place before the hurricanes and it was implemented aggressively and effectively. Entergy's emergency environmental response—which also covers power restoration activities—is consistent with a much broader commitment by the corporation to environmental protection, particularly regarding wetlands, reforestation and global warming. For the fifth year in a row, Entergy was named in 2006 to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Entergy manages the ever-present risk of Gulf Coast hurricanes by aggressively preparing for massive storms. That preparation served the company and its customers well in 2005. Following the storms, it became necessary to further manage the risk by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for Entergy New Orleans as that small subsidiary utility had become temporarily financially unviable. A business continuity team also was formed to make key recommendations about where functions would be located in the future and, later, to plan for future crisis scenarios.

While nature certainly had the upper hand at first, Entergy prevailed in the end. Even in—especially in—a crisis of this magnitude, Entergy strove to provide exemplary service. Entergy employees persevered through extreme conditions and physical fatigue and restored power remarkably quickly.

J. Wayne Leonard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Entergy Corporation