By David Ball
PORT ARTHUR — Though maybe not as critical as restoring electrical utilities to homes and businesses, a still important aspect of recovery from Hurricane Ike is the restoration of Time-Warner services such as telephone, Internet and cable television.
George Perrett, public affairs manager with Time-Warner said the company’s goal is to restore service to 100 percent of its customers by Oct. 1.
“It’s looking great,” Perrett said. “We’ve been restoring at a fairly quick clip. We have 1,500 workers in the area — 1,400 from around the country working in a variety of trucks.”
Thus far, Perrett said the following communities have their Time-Warner service restored:
• Mid-County- 81 percent
• Orange- 70 percent
• Port Arthur- 40 percent
• Hardin County- 35 percent
• Vidor- 33 percent
Perrett said if a customer has the bundle service of telephone, Internet and cable television, foreseeing no other contingencies, the system should be up and running all at once. Customers who still have technical problems may call for assistance at 1-800-CABLE-55 to Time-Warner’s call centers in Harlingen, El Paso and Mexico City.
Perrett added cable television will not work under generator power until the line and signal is restored with electrical power.
Time-Warner’s retail offices will reopen Friday, Sept. 26 to receive payments. The company is issuing credits adjusted from Sept. 12 until service is restored.
