Residents of the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas are finally seeing relief from frequent power outages, thanks to Entergy Texas’ completion of a $110 million reliability project aimed at strengthening the area’s power grid.
The company marked the milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday at its newest substation, which officials say will double the capacity to serve the peninsula and help prevent outages, particularly during hurricanes and major storms.
A Promised Investment
Entergy Texas CEO Eliecer Viamontes reflected on the importance of the project, recalling his visit during a winter storm outage in December 2022. “I was here on Christmas of 2022…and I saw firsthand the impact it had on the community,” Viamontes said.
“We made a promise to the community that we were going to make the investments. And this, promise is kept.”
Viamontes expressed pride in the efforts of the crews behind the project, calling it “one of our biggest accomplishments in the last couple of years.” He highlighted the significance of celebrating the completion of the investment, especially in a time when there is no extreme weather event taking place.
Strengthening the Grid Against Storms
The new project, known as the Bolivar Peninsula Reliability Project, will provide two key benefits: full redundancy and advanced resiliency. Entergy officials explained that the new infrastructure includes multiple power lines coming into the peninsula, which will help restore power more quickly in the event of an outage.
The system has also been designed to withstand hurricane-force winds of up to 150 miles per hour.
Impact on Local Businesses
Local business owners are already noticing the improvements. Tyler Coco, owner of Cobb Real Estate, spoke about how the upgrades have brought peace of mind to his clients and helped ensure that more than 210 rental homes remain powered throughout the year.
“Kind of being isolated on the peninsula, you kind of feel like you’re at the tail end of maybe the lifeline of the energy source,” Coco said. “So it allows them to have more consistent energy on a regular basis throughout the year.”
Hurricane Season Relief
For the Bolivar Peninsula community, the reliability project promises to provide much-needed stability, particularly during hurricane season. Entergy leaders are hopeful that the upgrades will safeguard the region from widespread power outages, providing a sense of security to residents and businesses alike.
