Regulators will be calling for a review of Louisiana’s electric infrastructure after Hurricane Gustav laid waste to transmission and distribution systems across the state and left more than one million homes without power.

Entergy Baton Rouge-New Orleans area was isolated when 13 of 14 feeders went down.

A corridor from New Orleans to Baton Rouge was isolated from the power grid for days after the storm knocked out 13 of 14 lines feeding the area. The corridor has been reconnected with seven transmission lines, and power has been restored to most of the state. Utility officials say it could take up to three more weeks to restore power to heavily damaged areas, including Houma, which took a near-direct hit when the storm came ashore on Sept. 1. Much of that area’s transmission and distribution system is built on marsh or coastal land.

Hurricane-force winds, tornadoes and debris combined to destroy or damage 241 transmission lines, 352 substations and 8,200 poles in New Orleans-based Entergy Corp.’s territory. Entergy is the state’s largest electric provider. About 14,000 crews from throughout North America, including dozens of contractors and subcontractors, are working to replace and repair the system, says Randy Helmick, Entergy’s vice president for transmission.

Pineville, La.-based Cleco Corp., another investor-owned utility in the state, had damage to 36 transmission lines and 16 substations, says Steve Gauthier, manager of transmission, design and construction for Cleco.

Cleco experienced straight wind damage, while the Entergy territory, east and northeast of the storm’s eye, saw tornadoes and more violent winds.

“It’s distressing to see a transmission tower crumpled in the middle of a sugarcane field,” says Jimmy Field, a member of Louisiana’s Public Service Commission, after flying over 25 steel lattice transmission towers toppled by tornadoes south of Baton Rouge. “I’m sure that the towers meet all the standards, but we’re going to look into it.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has suggested that hardening the electric system be considered, and the New Orleans City Council will also likely ask Entergy New Orleans to look at strengthening the existing transmission network.

“I think they do need to harden the system. That’s something we will be in discussion with them about,” says Clint Vince, an attorney with Washington D.C.-based Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP and a key advisor to the New Orleans City Council on utility matters. Helmick says the geography of the region limits the number of lines that can be brought into the area, while Vince argues that existing lines can be strengthened and more generation added inside the city limits.

Vince, Helmick and Gauthier all agree there’s only so much hardening that can be done cost-effectively.

“I can design a structure that can withstand 200-mile-an-hour winds, but our ratepayers won’t pay for it,” Gauthier says. Helmick says storm hardening could double customer bills.

Entergy says all its infrastructure met the National Electric Safety Code at the time of construction. Louisiana does not require its utilities to abide by the code, but all utilities in the state do, according to the state’s public service commission.

“The older the structure, the lower the design criteria,” Helmick says. “We didn’t go in and retrofit.”

Field says retrofitting should be considered. He has requested information from Florida on storm hardening and will ask the public service commission to consider hardening efforts. Florida is in the midst of a statewide storm-hardening effort following the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons.

“It was pretty evident improvements could be made, and we’ve tried to be really proactive,” says Kirsten Olsen, a spokeswoman for the Florida Public Service Commission.

Florida’s efforts include rigorous vegetation management, regular inspections of poles and towers and a review of whether putting lines underground is cost-effective. Utilities have spent several millions of dollars on the effort over the last year, though customers have yet to be billed for the work.