What Linemen Are Seeing: SWEPCO Releases On Camera Accounts and Storm Footage from Across the Region
January 27, 2026
B‑ROLL DESCRIPTION
Available raw footage includes:
- Linemen sharing reports from the field & their motivation to brave these dangerous conditions
- Linemen featured include the following in order of appearance:
- Ben Shaw, Lineman A, Haughton
- Cody Jones, Lineman A, Haughton
- Eli Furqueron, Lineman B, Shreveport
- William Cherry, Lineman A, Shreveport
- Darin Purifoy, Troubleman, Texarkana
- Jason Bloxum, Troubleman, Shreveport
- Michael DeBlieux, Lineman A, Natchitoches
- Workers navigating repairs in icy terrain
SHREVEPORT, LA – SWEPCO is providing updated footage and soundbites from line workers as crews across Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana continue restoration efforts following a powerful winter storm that plunged more than a million people across the South and Southeast into a frozen landscape.
The multiday system delivered heaviest snowfall in Northwest Arkansas, some reports showing upwards of 12 inches in Siloam Springs, while the storm’s most destructive impacts came from large‑scale icing across East Texas and North Louisiana in SWEPCO’s Shreveport and Valley service areas.
Ice, not snow, drove the majority of the damage, with up to a half inch of ice accumulating on some lines and trees.
“Ice is particularly harmful,” said SWEPCO’s Adam Keeth, Director, Distribution Engineering and Reliability. “A half inch of ice can add nearly 500 pounds of extra weight for one span of wire pole to pole. That’s equivalent to a grizzly bear and unfortunately many trees collapsed under that icy weight.”
SWEPCO crews, joined by thousands of utility professionals from 14 states across the country, are assessing damage, restoring power, and we won’t stop until every customer is back on.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, crews were working to restore power for about 12,000 SWEPCO customers in hardest hit northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas.
“We know how difficult it is for any SWEPCO customer to be without power,” Keeth said. “Our teams are working in extremely tough conditions and will not stop until every customer is repowered, and we truly appreciate the patience and support of our customers.”
As part of its community partnerships, SWEPCO continues to post and update warming‑station locations across the region. The latest information can be found at SWEPCO.com/outage. Customers are encouraged to stay safe and review cold‑weather safety tips at SWEPCO.com/safety. To report a downed line or request support, customers should call 1‑888‑216‑3523.
About Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO)
Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, delivers safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to more than 500,000 customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. SWEPCO is an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company. Learn more at SWEPCO.com. Connect with us by following Facebook.com/SWEPCO, Twitter.com/SWEPCOnews, Instagram.com/swepco, Youtube.com/SWEPCOtv and LinkedIn.com/company/swepco.