Natchitoches Will Get Second Transmission Line

The following article is one of a continuing series profiling electric utility operations in LEPA’s individual member cities.

Natchitoches Mayor Wayne McCullen will leave office at the end of May, choosing to close out his 32-year career in city government. He will have completed three terms—12 years—as mayor after previously serving 20 years on the City Council.

A major accomplishment now in the works for the Natchitoches municipally owned electric system is the construction of a second transmission line for the city. The new 69-kilovolt line will serve as a backup for the existing 138-kilovolt line that the city relies on.

McCullen notes that Cleco, which provides power to Natchitoches, is building the new transmission line. Utility Director Bryan Wimberly says the new line, which is about 50% complete now and will be energized by mid-summer, will be “a key to our economic stability.”

The city has shut down its no-longer-used generating units, which are currently being dismantled.

Mayor McCullen says Natchitoches is “sustaining well compared to the economy nationally.” The city is currently showing a 3% growth in sales tax revenues, he points out, and growth among small businesses, “which are the backbone of our local economy.”

McCullen says he is proud of his years of public service and hopes he is leaving a legacy that has made a positive difference for the city over the 32-year period he has served. “I look forward to being a citizen of Natchitoches and being involved in the community,” he adds. “I may offer a little advice to help the next administration.”

The mayor says he has enjoyed his participation with LEPA over many years and feels that Natchitoches has benefited greatly from its continuing membership in the 18-city group.

In other utility news, Wimberly reports that Natchitoches is nearing completion of the refurbishing of a previously used water plant. Once in operation, the plant will provide 4 million gallons a day of water production capability. That is in addition to the 8-million-gallons-a-day pumping capability that the city now has.

Due to last summer’s drought, Wimberly explains, the city invoked voluntary water restrictions during the summer and had to pump water for more than 200 days.

Natchitoches draws its water from nearby Sibley Lake. During the drought period and subsequently, the city had to pump water from Bayou Pierre, a tributary out of Shreveport that empties into the Red River north of the city. Water from the bayou was pumped into Sibley Lake and then into the city’s water treatment plant before being made available for household use.