A good summary of the situation for electrical restoration and petroleum production in the Gulf states can be found at the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Assurance. No, I didn’t know it existed either.

Items of interest —

Colonial Pipeline is back to 66% capacity and will increase as more pumping facilities are recovered

The power’s back on for all but three of the refineries, and ExxonMobil (the biggest) is running and expecting 6 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Reserve

Power is not on for over 50% of the electrical customers in Louisiana and Mississippi. Although more than 10,000 repair crews have arrived and more are on the way, many of them are sleeping in their trucks, and Entergy, the major utility for the area, is having difficulty securing water, food, and fuel for them. Creative semi-governmental solution: Amtrak may be providing sleeper cars as dormitories.

Also, I see the FAA established a “no-fly” rule over Lake Pontchartrain and the city, which is further delaying damage surveys and planning. I can support limiting the aerial sightseers and Eyewitless News Choppers intruding on Coast Guard and Army operations, but the lack of electricity is interfering with all levels of recovery down below; it’s time to let the power company put up a few reconnaissance sorties, too.