Casey DeMoss Roberts Sounds off on Sen. Vitter's Proposal

​Hurricane Isaac has drawn much attention to Entergy and its performance. Take a look at this in depth account by Zoe Sullivan.

The Louisana Weekly originally published this article by Zoe Sullivan in it’s October 1st print edition. Link to the full article can be found below. 

Entergy has been the target of much wrath in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. With hundreds of thousands of people left without power for days, public officials and residents denounced the firm’s performance. Almost a month after the storm, The Times-Picayune reported that 250 streetlights are still out in Kenner. Giving voice to the frustration of many Louisiana residents, Senator David Vitter held a press conference on September 25 calling for legislation that would make it possible to sell the assets of utilities companies that do not perform adequately.

Setting forth this proposal in a letter, Vitter challenged Governor Jindal and other state officials to consider “[injecting] real competitive pressure into the equation.” He asked: “Why should a utility be guaranteed its costs plus a profit but in most cases never EVER be able to be replaced, no matter how poorly it performs?” Vitter also argued that “The forced sale option should be created for use in those hopefully rare cases when needed.”

Vitter’s proposal makes sense to Casey DeMoss Roberts, Executive Director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. Roberts told The Louisiana Weekly that her organization is a watchdog organization that “promotes fair and affordable, environmentally responsible energy policy in Louisiana.”

Roberts said that she would love to see power become publicly-owned. “In New Orleans, we’re having to fight for energy efficiency because the utility is worried about losing sales.” She compared the successes that San Antonio and Austin, TX have enjoyed promoting energy efficiency and pointed out that because of those cities’ efforts to use power wisely, they have managed to avoid having to build new power plants.
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Read the rest of the article here