Can’t make it in person? Join the livestream from The Council’s website.
The meeting will start with a presentation from Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Entergy New Orleans representatives on the circumstances surrounding the load shed event.
Head to our blog, 9 Major Questions About the May 25 Load Shedding Event, for the full breakdown on what we know so far. The short version: Power demand exceeded supply and to avoid a much larger blackout, the regional grid operator, MISO, ordered Entergy and Cleco to initiate a controlled power outage on May 25.
Why did this happen? What we know so far is that an Entergy-operated nuclear power plant, Riverbend, unexpectedly went offline on May 21, meaning it was not providing power to the grid; this happened while another Entergy nuclear plant was offline Sunday for scheduled routine maintenance. There were also transmission constraints, and possibly outages that also added to the situation. Additionally, the weather was likely hotter than models predicted, which resulted in more power demand than was expected, and power couldn’t move to where people needed it.
However, this remains only a piece of the puzzle, as the load shed wasn’t called until May 25. Other factors that forced a 600 MW reduction in demand were at play, and determining those factors will require transparency and accountability from the utilities who own and operate power plants and transmission assets.
It is our regulators’ duty to require that all involved parties provide answers, transparency, and that utilities develop measures so that citizens don’t find themselves in the dark, again. Our regulators, Councilmembers and Louisiana Public Service Commissioner, must call for answers and solutions from Entergy and MISO.
If you can, attend in person, speak up, bring your questions! Can’t attend in person? Watch the livestream on the Council’s website and submit comments in advance of the meeting using the link below. Please note the online comment portal will close at 8am tomorrow.
