NOLA City Council is meeting tomorrow December 10

The agenda is jam packed. Here’s the rundown on a couple of items we’re watching:

First up is a presentation from Delta Utilities on the transition. In December, 2024 the City Council approved the sale of Entergy New Orleans’ gas system to a new privately owned utility: Delta States Utilities, a subsidiary of Bernhard Capital Partners, a private equity firm. The deal has been controversial from the start as the Alliance for Affordable Energy and Mayor’s Office of Resilience & Sustainability both raised concerns about higher rates for customers and expanded reliance on fossil fuels. 

Since Delta Utilities began serving customers in New Orleans in July, The Alliance has already received reports from residents of billing errors. Learn more about our concerns and what we’ve been hearing from residents on our blog here. 

Entergy will also be at the meeting to present on recent outages and reliability investments. 

Item 9: Energy Smart energy efficiency program

Louisiana residents use at least 30% more electricity than the average American household, wasting millions of dollars a year on high utility bills. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Energy Efficiency programs help individuals and businesses reduce their energy use and lower their bills by sealing cracks and ducts to stop leaks and draft, adding insulation to your attic and more. Entergy New Orleans offers a portfolio of energy efficiency programs for residential, commercial, and industrial consumers through its Energy Smart program. 

At this month’s meeting the Council will consider a resolution to continue the Energy Smart Program for the next three year cycle, which is supposed to begin January 1, 2026. The Alliance has urged Entergy and the Council to prioritize investments in more low-income homes this cycle, and Entergy’s proposed programs and budgets do just that. 

Energy Smart is part of Entergy’s Integrated Resource Planning process, docket UD-23-01. 

Item 5: Proposal to help keep the lights on (UPDATE: please note this item has been deferred).

In 2024, The Alliance and Together New Orleans put forward a proposal for a new program to help neighborhoods stay powered during outages. The idea is simple: use $30 million in Grand Gulf settlement funds to install battery storage systems, paired with solar panels, across the city. 

These batteries would be placed in homes, community centers, churches, senior centers, restaurants, and other trusted spaces to serve as “resilience hubs.” During a power outage, these sites will become a beacon of light to charge medical devices, power phones, and offer a safe place for people to shelter in place or gather.

In response to our proposal the Council opened a new docket, UD-24-02, to get public input and  determine a path forward. As a result of the work in that docket, at Wednesday’s meeting the Council will consider a resolution to create a battery incentive program, outlining goals, scale and a funding source. The Alliance has advocated that half of the investment go to residential customers and that low-income residents and those who are medically dependent on electricity are prioritized.

View the Meeting Agenda