By REBECCA SMITH
September 1, 2008 1:14 p.m.

Utilities rolled into action Monday as Gustav marched west from Louisiana and Florida toward Texas, leaving behind downed power lines from high winds and flooding.

Hardest hit so far is Entergy Corp., the biggest utility in Louisiana, that said 433,657 customers accounts were without electricity as of 11 a.m. central time. That's more than one third of the 1.1 million accounts served by Entergy's three utility units in Louisiana and the number is expected to worsen in coming hours.

Entergy has mobilized more than 9,000 workers, including its own employees, contract workers and volunteers from other utilities, and they were waiting in staging areas outside the hurricane's expected path. Initial crews deployed will assess damage and assign crews to restore power to critical areas first, such as hospitals, fire stations, police stations and other locations important to public safety.

In Florida, the first damage reports indicated roughly 6,000 customers of Gulf Power, based in Pensacola, Fla., were without electricity in far west Florida but 1,800 had been restored by 10 a.m. central time. A Gulf Power spokeswoman said officials were still concerned about tornados but the Southern Co. unit was counting itself lucky it had sustained no major transmission-line damage so far, just smaller feeder lines.

Utilities in the region participate in the Southeast Electric Exchange, a group that coordinates restoration efforts and mutual assistance. Utilities typically wait to see how badly hit they are, compare their resources with what's needed and then put out calls to other utilities to lend a hand. Crews are moved the shortest distance possible and bring with them their own trucks and equipment. Typically, companies with many utility units, such as Southern Co. or Entergy Corp. first help sister companies before going to the aid of others and utilities with operations in several states have a logistical advantage over one-utility companies.

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