What You Need to Know About the NOLA City Council’s Recent Meeting

10.17.2024
New Orleans City Council
Utility Regulation
Entergy New Orleans
Consumer Protection
Renewable Energy
Energy Efficiency
Last week at the New Orleans City Council meeting on Thursday, October 10, Councilmembers discussed and voted on three items that could impact your electricity bill:
Here’s a breakdown of what happened. 

🔏 CUSTOMER PROTECTIONS

The Council approved a resolution (R-24-574) regarding changing the Service Regulations Entergy New Orleans (ENO) must follow. This resolution is part of an ongoing process, docket UD-23-02, to improve protections for electricity and gas customers. The Council has asked ENO to submit a revised version of the Service Regulations by November 8, 2024, with some important changes:

The Alliance has been actively involved in this process since it started in 2023.

While we appreciate the Council’s suggestions and these steps forward, there are still areas where we think the Council can do more to protect customers:
Access to reliable, affordable electricity is crucial for New Orleanians, especially as the city faces stronger storms and more extreme weather.

The Alliance has been receiving weekly calls from residents with high bills, disconnect notices and no support resources to turn to. With so many residents dealing with high bills and unreliable service, we’re urging the Council to act boldly on behalf of struggling ratepayers. 

View Resolution R-24-574

☀️ COMMUNITY SOLAR

The Council also approved a resolution (R–24-571) that will make it easier for more people to participate in the city’s Community Solar program. This decision is part of an ongoing effort under docket UD-18-03 to fix some of the challenges with the existing rules that have slowed the growth of community solar projects in New Orleans. More specifically, this resolution aims to streamline the process of building, permitting, and connecting new community solar installations. 

At the meeting, Jesse George, AAE’s New Orleans Policy Director, commended the Council for their efforts. These changes will help spur the development of community solar projects, which will benefit residents and especially low-income subscribers across the city. 

He also highlighted a key issue that still needs work: consolidated billing.

Consolidated billing would simplify how customers receive and pay their energy bills when participating in community solar, and is not currently required, meaning that customers who subscribe to a community solar program would receive two bills. Consolidated billing is “something that we’re looking forward to continuing working with all parties to resolve and we feel is an extremely important customer protection,” said George. 

The Alliance has also offered additional suggestions in the docket:
Community solar has the potential to bring clean, renewable energy to more New Orleans residents, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Council to ensure it delivers on its promise.

View Resolution R-24-571

💡 ENERGY PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

The Council also approved a plan for the 15th year of Entergy New Orleans’ energy efficiency program, Energy Smart (resolution R-24-570). While The Alliance had hoped for a two-year plan to provide more stability, we’re glad to see that the Council is moving forward with at least one year of programming. Large commercial projects (think hotels or restaurants) often take 18 months to complete, making only 12 months of funding an unnecessary barrier to upgrading heating and cooling for large scale projects.

Energy efficiency programs are a win-win because they help residents and businesses lower their energy bills while reducing harmful pollution for everyone. 

The Alliance will continue to monitor the implementation of the Energy Smart program and offer guidance to the City Council on ways to make the program reach even more people. Within the current Integrated Resource Planning process, efficiency and demand reduction programs are considered as a valuable resource and we are working with allies including New Orleans’ Office of Resilience and Sustainability to ensure New Orleanians get the efficient and affordable housing they deserve. 

View Resolution R-24-570

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