Elections matter

 This year, every seat in New Orleans City Council is up for grab, as is the Mayor's office. The people elected to these positions will make energy decisions that will impact the city for decades. We are holding public forums to give citizens the opportunity to learn about each candidates' stance on the issues that will affect each and every one of us. Read more to learn about the events and Energy Policy in New Orleans.

Mayoral energy forum

​​Where: East New Orleans Library, 5641 Read Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127, USA
When: Tuesday, September 12, 6-7:45 pm

View the Mayoral Energy Forum Facebook event

City Council energy forum

Where: New Orleans Main Public Library, 219 Loyola Ave, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
When: Wednesday, September 20, 6-7:45 pm

View the City Council Energy Forum Facebook event

Council regulatory authority

• New Orleans City Council has regulatory authority of its investor owned electric and gas utility: Entergy New Orleans.
• The Council has constitutional legislative authority to not only regulate but also enact policy, which is greater authority than most other (state) commissions. This kind of authority puts the City Council in a powerful position, poised to shape the energy future of New Orleans for the benefit of its citizens.
• New Orleans residents benefit from having a regulator with a broad purview that extends beyond utility matters to consider intersecting issues like transportation, and community and economic development. 

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Utility regulation and energy policy in new orleans

• The Utility Committee is composed of 5 of the 7 Council members, headed by a chair. The full council votes following a Utility Committee recommendation.
• The Council’s job as regulator is to balance public interests, including residential, government, commercial, and industrial customers, with the interest of the utility, which is given an opportunity to earn a reasonable profit. The public interest is broad and includes affordability, reliability, resilience, environmental and economic impact.
• As the regulator of a monopoly, the Council sets rates and makes decisions about costs the utility is allowed to charge to customers through those rates, such as power plants, system upgrades, and energy efficiency programs. The Council also sets Entergy New Orleans’ allowed profit margins.
• In addition to its regulatory responsibilities, the Council is empowered to enact far reaching legislative policy on matters like efficiency, rooftop solar, reliability and rate structure. It is the Council’s responsibility to define a vision for how New Orleans will meet its future energy needs.
• While the Council monitors and impacts the fuel costs customers are charged, funds collected by the utility for fuel are not considered revenue, and the utility should not make a profit on fuel. (These costs may be as much as 40% of the bill)
• Major changes are taking place in the utility sector and transforming how we generate power and meet our energy needs. As energy efficiency, rooftop solar, and other demand side (or distributed) energy resources become popular with customers, regulation will need to change with it to ensure customers receive service that balances a host of societal benefits with cost, and of course the utility business.
• The Council may investigate utility practices if there is concern the utility is doing things that are imprudent. A docket that requires the utility to prove they have acted in a prudent manner is called a “Show Cause” proceeding. Entergy may be required to defend a decision that impacted ratepayers related to system planning, outages, or costs.
• Since 2007, the Council has adopted a series of increasingly comprehensive resolutions banning sitting Council members from accepting campaign contributions from Entergy and companies or individuals with contracts related to the Council’s authority over utilities, including their advisors. These protections are vital to keep New Orleans City Council free from conflicts of interest and we encourage all Council candidates to do the same. 

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Decisions ahead

Outage and Reliability Investigation
   The Entergy New Orleans system experiences outages almost daily, which impacts business, health, and quality of life for customers, and causes damage to computer equipment and appliances. The Council is currently investigating the causes of these frequent outages and reliability problems, and expects the utility to find and implement solutions. We do know that over 95% of the outages experienced in New Orleans are related to the distribution system, rather than power plant issues, and we are encouraged that the Council sees the need for hardening and updating the grid.

Entergy’s Proposed New Orleans Power Plant
      ENO has proposed to build a new $200M+ gas power plant in New Orleans East and is pushing for a decision with very little time to consider the facts. Since the proposed plant was first announced, community members near the Michoud area have raised health and environmental concerns and many have called for a careful review of alternative choices. It is important that the Council first take the time necessary to get all the facts related to the city’s need, potential cost impacts, and whether alternative resources could better serve customers, then make a decision.

Rate Case
     In 2018, Entergy New Orleans will file a “Rate Case” to the council that will set electricity prices for all of New Orleans. Entergy is expected to include a request to raise rates for all customers, but is likely to hit residents hardest. Some charges to residents may jump 20%. Careful scrutiny is required to ensure customers are not overcharged. Meanwhile, rate-making is a valuable opportunity to look for creative ways to incentivize the utility to improve service.

Energy Smart – Saving Energy to Reduce Power Costs
     A major energy saving program of the New Orleans City Council, Energy Smart is administered by Entergy. The Council has recently directed the utility to substantially expand the size of the Energy Smart programs until they are approximately six times larger than today, thereby reducing bills for all customers. The Council is hiring an independent consultant to find the best ways of reaching this goal and to maximize overall energy saving for the city. In addition, the Council is considering targets to reduce peak demand through demand side management. We support all of these Council actions.

Renewable Energy
     Currently, Entergy New Orleans has installed 1 MW of renewable energy to serve its customers, and has committed to acquiring another 100 MW of clean renewable energy in the future. So far, the adoption of solar, wind, and other renewables has been slow by Louisiana utilities, while residents and businesses in New Orleans have installed nearly 40 MW on their own rooftops. The Council can, and should, set clear goals for adoption of affordable carbon-free energy. It is important to do so in the near future to capture existing federal incentives and historically low renewable energy prices.

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP)
​      The Council’s policy of public, transparent, and integrated resource planning is a triennial process that seeks to determine the best 20 year plan for meeting our energy needs. Fall 2017 is the beginning of the 4th cycle of IRP, and Council policies relating to affordability, renewables, efficiency, and climate will all be considered in this round.

​Climate/ Resilience
    The Council recently resolved to commit New Orleans to the Paris Climate agreement, and to “dramatically reduce” carbon emissions. These are worthy resolutions, and follow up will be necessary to lay out specific targets and goals to move the city toward fulfilling the commitments and protecting our future.

Louisiana Public Service Commission Forum and Primer coming soon