SHREVEPORT, La. - Severe storms moved through the Ark-La-Tex late Friday, causing extensive damage – including downed poles and lines – to SWEPCO’s electric system and leaving approximately 19,300 customers without power.At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, approximately 9,500 customers were without power, including 1,500 in Louisiana, 4,700 in Arkansas and 3,400 in Texas.The following are estimated times of restoration. Estimates are for 95% of customers who can take power. Many customers’ power will be restored sooner.Natchitoches and Leesville – 5 p.m. Saturday, April 10Shreveport and Haughton – 8 p.m. Saturday, April 10Southwest Arkansas and East Texas – 10 p.m. Sunday, April 11SWEPCO and contractor crews continue to assess damage and restore power as safely and quickly as possible.SAFETY:KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE: Help utility crews stay safe and healthy while working to restore your power. Maintain at least six feet of physical distance between yourself and SWEPCO field personnel as we all play a crucial role in preventing the spread of coronavirus.DOWNED POWER LINES: Never touch a downed utility wire, no matter how harmless it looks. It can be difficult to distinguish between a power line and a cable or telephone line. All downed lines should be considered energized and dangerous. And don't touch anything in contact with the line, such as trees, fences or puddles of water, since they can conduct electricity. Keep children and pets away from this potential hazard. Call SWEPCO to report any downed lines or equipment.PORTABLE GENERATORS: If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box. Portable generators "backfeed" electricity up the line and risk the lives of repair workers and the public. Follow the manufacturers' instructions carefully, and plug essential appliances directly into the generator.OUTAGE INFO:SWEPCO Mobile App – Report outages, check outage status, and more. Download at App Store or Google Play. See SWEPCO.com/App.SWEPCO Alerts – Get an email or text message with the latest info for your home or business. See SWEPCO.com/Alerts.SWEPCO.com/Outages – Outage map, report outages, safety information. See SWEPCO.com/Outages. This information was developed by SWEPCO.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Utility customers will see some relief from high bills from the February winter storm following a vote Wednesday by the Public Service Commission.