Hurricane Ida Update
Hurricane Ida left hundreds of thousands in southeast Louisiana without power despite years of promises by Entergy that our communities would not have a repeat of power grid failures if they could just build that plant in New Orleans East. We have already learned that the promise of power coming back without outside transmission was false.
As New Orleanians sat in the dark for days or evacuated our homes, it seemed like everyone was asking one question: how did the grid fail so dramatically in our city and throughout Louisiana?
Entergy has gotten a power plant every time they asked. Entergy sold us a gas plant that couldn’t possibly work, saying it would be the solution, but now that the storm has passed it is clear it did not work as promised. The transmission system is entirely of their building, and they have never been denied ratepayer dollars to improve it.
The system we have now is the one that works best for shareholders, not for people.
The Alliance and the coalition Energy Future New Orleans (EFNO) are calling on the New Orleans City Council to hold Entergy accountable for its mismanagement and neglect of rusting and aging equipment which led to a city-wide power outage following Hurricane Ida, and follows a host of failures by the utility corporation.
We can’t let Entergy control our energy future anymore. We need an entirely new way of providing energy in this city that is resilient, renewable and equitable.
The Latest Ida News |
On September 14th, 2021 EFNO members filed a motion with the City Council that seeks:
A full investigation into what caused the Entergy power outage after Hurricane Ida; an independent management audit of Entergy corporations; and a prudence review to determine the fairness of the costs on Entergy bills for the new gas plant in New Orleans East Join us in demanding that our New Orleans City Council use their authority to hold Entergy accountable for their broken promises and have Entergy – not our community - cover the costs to achieve quality, consistent and affordable gas and electricity.
Entergy's false promises about their new gas plant in New Orleans East are expected to remain central in the investigations and regulatory hearings that will scrutinize Entergy's handling of Ida.
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Why is there all this talk about the
Gas Plant in New Orleans East?
On March 8th, 2018, the New Orleans City Councilmembers voted for New Orleans residents and businesses to foot the bill for an expensive, unnecessary and harmful gas power plant, commonly known as NOPS, in Michoud that would only profit Entergy.
Entergy sold the New Orleans City Council on the plant by touting its "black-start capability" and claiming that the plant’s “storm restoration benefits” would help “to restore service to customers in a timely manner following a major storm event” (Entergy's Supplemental Application).
However, The Alliance and our partners warned the council that "nothing in the record shows that this plant is a real or cost effective method of making New Orleans resilient during and after a major storm compared to other strategies designed for that purpose. More likely, the scenario [Entergy] describe would render their plant virtually useless. Here’s why: New Orleans has 7 transmission lines coming into the parish, and the circumstance Entergy describes, with every one of the 7 lines being severed would have such a catastrophic impact on our already fragile distribution system, that a 128 MW power plant stationed on the far eastern side of the city (if it were miraculously the only thing spared by such a storm) would be of little help. At most, it could meet 10% of the City’s normal load. Storm restoration will always depend on bringing back our transmission and distribution lines" (Logan Burke, AAE Closing Comments).
Unfortunately Entergy's plan left Louisiana unprepared. As the NY Times put it simply: New Orleans Built a Power Plant to Prepare for Storms. It Sat Dark for 2 Days. "Why it [NOPS] took so long to ramp up and how an entire U.S. city could have remained without power for so long is now the subject of extensive finger-pointing and blame, with the city pledging a full investigation that could take months."
And for parts of New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana these power outages lasted much more than two days. Two weeks after Hurricane Ida, tens of thousands in Louisiana were still without power. Folks in bayou and river parishes won't see grid power until September 29th. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, the power failure contributed to the deaths of 12 residents.
In the two weeks that have passed since Hurricane Ida, Entergy has not provided answers for the massive power outage.
The power plant in New Orleans East has failed to provide the “storm restoration benefits” Entergy promised, yet New Orleans ratepayers and future generations are still on the hook for the $650 million that the plant will cost over the next 29 years (btw we’ve already paid north of $30million for the plant).
The traditional energy systems that served us in the 19th and 20th centuries were not designed to weather Ida or Laura. We need to plan differently. The New Orleans City Council has the unique authority to hold Entergy New Orleans accountable for their broken promises and demand quality, consistent and affordable electricity. And the Louisiana Public Service Commission is an elected body that has the authority to hold Entergy Louisiana accountable for the transmission system that failed.
How Do We Move Forward
What We Need
Entergy needs to bolster their transmission system and invest in local solar and battery backup to enable each neighborhood to be a microgrid.
We don’t want to waste anymore money or time on “solutions” that only work a few days a year (fossil fueled emergency generation and peaker plants). Instead, we want to see efficient homes, solar + batteries, and transmission that help bring down everyday costs AND keep you safe in your home when disasters come. Because they are coming. They are here.
The City Council needs to do a much better job of ensuring that our utility company serves the people of New Orleans and not the fossil fuel industry. We need utility advisors who actually have expertise in overseeing a utility. The Council must investigate how Entergy failed us during the storm and failed us with a faulty, expensive gas plant we didn’t ask for. We’re calling on the City Council to conduct the management audit they promised last spring because we demand greater accountability for these failures.
We don’t want to waste anymore money or time on “solutions” that only work a few days a year (fossil fueled emergency generation and peaker plants). Instead, we want to see efficient homes, solar + batteries, and transmission that help bring down everyday costs AND keep you safe in your home when disasters come. Because they are coming. They are here.
The City Council needs to do a much better job of ensuring that our utility company serves the people of New Orleans and not the fossil fuel industry. We need utility advisors who actually have expertise in overseeing a utility. The Council must investigate how Entergy failed us during the storm and failed us with a faulty, expensive gas plant we didn’t ask for. We’re calling on the City Council to conduct the management audit they promised last spring because we demand greater accountability for these failures.
Demand Action
The motion EFNO members filed September 14th, 2021 calls into question the fairness of New Orleans customers bearing the entire costs for the gas plant because it did not operate on its own in the power outage, as promised by Entergy to win Council approval for it, and the plant is now being used to power areas outside of the city.
No More Broken Promises: It's time to hold Entergy accountable.
WE DEMAND:
1. A full audit and investigation into Entergy and report on their legacy of broken promises;
2. No rate increases until Entergy is held accountable;
3. Support for community driven solutions including a climate resilient power system.
No More Broken Promises: It's time to hold Entergy accountable.
WE DEMAND:
1. A full audit and investigation into Entergy and report on their legacy of broken promises;
2. No rate increases until Entergy is held accountable;
3. Support for community driven solutions including a climate resilient power system.
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The Climate Disaster Community Controlled Fund pools and distributes resources for the region using collective decision-making and following the values of #GulfSouth4GND. The fund is anchored by the Gulf South for a Green New Deal and supports hurricane recovery response to storms like Hurricane Ida and invests in long-term power buildig in LA, MS, TX, AL, and FL. |