EFNO Urges the New Council to Act on Promised Management Audit​ of Entergy

The Energy Future New Orleans Coalition sent a letter the New Orleans City Council today urging the new Council to fulfill its commitment to take up in earnest a management audit of Entergy New Orleans, LLC.
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​In the wake of Hurricane Ida, which rendered much of the city powerless for a week-and-a-half, the Council voted on September 23, 2021 to adopt motion M-21-342. That motion directed the Council Utility Regulatory Office (“CURO”) to develop a request for qualifications (“RFQ”) for a firm to conduct the audit. CURO issued the RFQ on December 8, 2021, and it has now been two months with no further action. We understand now that the RFQ has failed to garner a single response, a worrisome confirmation that the audit services market does not believe the Council has shown serious commitment to this effort.

The record before the Council documents the multiple Entergy failures and misplaced priorities that warrant prompt action on the audit. Get up to date on the full story in our letter to the Council. ​

EFNO Letter to the Council Re. Management Audit

​The  record before  the  Council  documents  the  multiple  Entergy failures  and misplaced priorities  that  warrant  prompt  action on the  audit. These  failures  include:

• The catastrophic  failure  of eight  transmission lines  during Hurricane  Ida  which were  purportedly graded to withstand winds  of 140 mph;
• The failure  of the  New  Orleans  Power Station (“NOPS”) to perform  as  promised by Entergy in the  days  following Hurricane  Ida;
• The use of paid actors  to sell  NOPS  to the  Council;
• Unannounced power outages  on Mardi  Gras  Day in excess  of four times  the  required load  in below-freezing temperatures  that  also shut  off electric  service  to the  city’s  essential  water services;  and
• Intentional safety violations and routine reliability issues at the Grand Gulf nuclear plant with exorbitant costs passed onto customers. 

Entergy continues to find new ways to demonstrate its contempt for the people of New Orleans and the Council as its regulator by following a philosophy of profit over people. Entergy’s actions are seldom based in innovation and resilience, but rather in avoiding the clear direction of the Council at the expense of the people of New Orleans. Most recently, Entergy has crawfished on a much-ballyhooed commitment to the City to construct an electrical substation to power the Sewerage and Water Board, potentially delaying or stranding a critical infrastructure project. While the Council has communicated its intent to make this project whole through other means, the fact remains that Entergy Corporation distributed $202 million in shareholder dividends mere days after Entergy New Orleans announced its withdrawal. Quite simply, Entergy has serious problems with its management priorities and execution. New Orleanians deserve better. 

The lack of any response to the RFQ is unacceptable, and responsibility rests with the Council. It will take courage and competence to undertake the audit and confront the toxic management environment at Entergy. The Council must reissue the RFQ and proclaim unanimously its support for the process and its intention to use the audit results to create real change. Entergy’s long history of bad behavior and deeply-rooted problems warrant a healthy budget and a commitment of assistance from CURO and the Council, including data production assistance. 

​The prior Council took decisive action in the wake of Hurricane Ida, acting as a prudent and determined regulator, including making the commitment to a management audit of Entergy. Many of you who now occupy seats on the Council ran your campaigns on pledges to hold Entergy accountable. We urge you to keep your word, and to take up where the prior Council left off in the best interest of New Orleans’ overburdened ratepayers. 

​Sincerely,

Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance

Andreanecia Morris
Executive Director
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Nichelle Taylor
Program Director of Policy Implementation and Development

Greater New Orleans Climate Reality

Peter Digre
Co-Chair

350 New Orleans

Claire Giesen
Andy Kowalczyk

Audubon Delta

Brent Newman
Senior Policy Director

Extinction Rebellion New Orleans

Sierra Club

Grace Morris  

Deep South Center for Environmental Justice

Monique Harden
Assistant Director of Law and Public Policy       

Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association

Katherine Prevost
President        

Delta Chapter, Sierra Club      

Angelle Bradford       
Ex Com Member-at-Large 

New Orleans Group of the Delta Chapter, Sierra Club    

Executive Committee  ​

Democratic Socialists of America, New Orleans Chapter 

Local Council

Alliance for Affordable Energy

Logan Atkinson Burke       
Executive Director     
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Jesse S. George       
New Orleans Policy Director