Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • Home
  • Who
  • What
    • Consumer Protection and Education >
      • Regulate Our Pipelines
      • Health Impact Assessment
    • Clean Energy >
      • Renewable & Clean Portfolio Standard
      • Transmission
    • Energy Efficiency >
      • EEFA
    • GS4GND
    • Past Work
  • How
    • New Orleans City Council >
      • Council Actions
    • New Orleans Dockets >
      • UD-22-05 Hurricane Ida Costs
      • UD-22-04 Demand Solutions
      • UD-22-03 Battery Storage
      • UD-22-02 100% Renewable
      • UD-22-01 Storm Reserve
      • UD-21-03 Resilience
      • UD-21-02 Zeta Cost Recovery
      • UD-21-01 Winter Storm Uri
      • UD-20-02 IRP (2021)
      • UD-19-01 RPS
      • UD-18-07 ENO Rate Case
      • UD-18-02 EV Charging
      • UD-18-01 Smart Cities
      • UD-17-04 Reliability
      • UD-17-03 IRP (2018)
    • LA Public Service Commission >
      • LPSC 2022 Election
      • Engage with the LPSC
    • Lawsuits & Appeals
    • Climate Initiative Task Force
  • News
    • The Watchdog
    • People's Power Hour
    • MISO Soup
    • Hurricane Ida
    • Events Calendar >
      • AAE House Party
  • Learn
    • Glossary
    • Timeline
    • Reports
  • Get Involved
    • Support
    • Newsletter
    • Intern and Volunteer >
      • Wimpelberg Intern Fellowship
    • Contact Us

The Watchdog

A blog on energy matters in Louisiana!

City Council will decide on consulting contracts for advice on Entergy.

6/14/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
City Council will decide on consulting contracts for advice on Entergy. For decades, the Utility, Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee of the New Orleans City Council has relied on a handful of primarily out-of-state contractors to provide technical advice and counsel on regulatory matters involving Entergy New Orleans. Different iterations of the Council have come and gone, yet the same familiar personalities have occupied the seats reserved for these contractors at committee and Council meetings.

At an annual sum of nearly $7M, the contracts of the Council’s utility advisors are the most lucrative that it awards. The firms that currently hold these contracts -- including Washington, D.C.-based law firm Dentons and Denver-based technical advisory firm Legend Consulting Group -- have done so for almost four decades, while New Orleans continues to battle high bills and unreliable service. Ideally, the utility advisors would lend a critical eye on the utility’s filings before the Council, but in recent years the advisors have supported Entergy’s unpopular and costly decisions, such as the construction of the gas plant in New Orleans East, which will cost New Orleanians upwards of $650 Million over 30 years. Meanwhile, advisors are free to contribute to the political campaigns of hopeful Council candidates, while their expenses are paid for by New Orleans ratepayers.

The advisor’s current contracts expire at the end of 2021 and will be opened for a Request for Qualifications this year, as they are every five years.

New Orleanians -- especially members of the Council -- should ask themselves: Have utility bills become more affordable in the past four decades? Has electric service become more reliable? What value are we receiving for the millions of ratepayer dollars spent each year? Do these firms have the vision necessary to lead our city past its reliance on fossil fuels? A fresh perspective on utility regulatory matters is overdue in New Orleans, and the Council should use the bidding process on these contracts to seriously consider a change.

Over the last few years, spurred by a report in The Lens on the political connections of these long-time advisors, the Council has begun to direct the build-up of their Council Utility Regulatory Office, the in-house staff that, until recently, acted in a purely administrative capacity, rather than as subject matter experts or legal counsel. The CURO office has grown since 2019 from two staff members to five full-time staff, with further plans for growth. This has the added bonus of keeping New Orleans ratepayers dollars here in the city, and building institutional knowledge in regulation and utility issues, including those involving the Sewerage and Water Board.

Another way the Council could re-think it’s relationship with regulation is to take a page from other utility regulators and contract with subject matter experts for specific issues. Rather than award blanket contracts for all regulatory dockets to the same few firms, the Council could award these contracts on a per-docket basis, which would create opportunities for local firms or those with specialized expertise and resources.  
​
​
Image Source
1 Comment

Steven Villegas
6/14/2021 09:37:35 am

Great piece. These contracts should be held by local New Orleans firms!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Alexandria Lia
    ALI
    ALI Meiner
    Andrew Wiseman
    Anniversary
    Bia Assevero
    CalGreen
    CCS
    Charles Rice
    Clean Energy
    CLECO
    CLECO FAQ
    CLECO Sale
    CLECO Sale Denied
    CLECO Stock
    CLECO Stock Prices
    CLECO Takeover
    Climate Change
    Clyde Holloway
    CO2
    Coastal Restoration
    Corruption
    Cost
    David Roberts
    Decoupling
    Dirty Energy
    Education
    Elections
    Energy
    Energy Efficiency
    Energy Policy
    Energy Smart
    Entergy
    Entergy New Orleans
    Environmental Risks
    EPA
    FERC
    Gas Plant
    Georgetown
    Government
    Grand Gulf
    Green Building
    Grid Failure
    GSREIA
    Gulf Of Mexico
    Health Risks
    Hurricane
    Hurricane Sandy
    Industrials
    Infrastructure
    IRP
    Land Loss
    Land-Use
    LA Public Service Commission
    LEED
    Liquid Air
    Louisiana
    Louisiana Public Service Commission
    LPSC
    MACQUAIRE
    Mayor's Office
    MISO
    Natural Gas
    New Iberia
    New Orleans City Council
    News
    NRDC
    Nuclear
    Oil & Gas Leases
    People Power
    Pipelines
    Power Grid
    Power Outages
    Power Plant
    Public Interest
    Regulation
    Reliability
    Renewable Energy
    RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY NETWORK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
    Resiliency
    Resolutions
    RTO
    Rulemaking
    Sacrifice Zones
    Sea Level Rise
    Solar
    Storage Solutions
    Subsidies
    SWEPCO
    TED Talks
    The Town Walk
    Town Hall Meetings
    Transmission
    Utilities
    Vicki Arroyo
    Watchdog
    Water Conservation
    Water Use
    WDSU
    Wetlands
    WWL Radio

    RSS Feed

Intern & Volunteer
If you want to be a frontline soldier on environmental protection, social justice, or environmental racism, come to Louisiana” –Gary Groesch, Founder of AAE
Calendar
View our events calendar ​for important upcoming community events and public meetings!
Support our work- ensure fair, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy for all.
501(c)3 IRS Notice

Alliance for Affordable Energy
Phone: (504) 208-9761
4505 S Claiborne Ave
New Orleans, LA 70175

Copyright © 2022 · Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • Home
  • Who
  • What
    • Consumer Protection and Education >
      • Regulate Our Pipelines
      • Health Impact Assessment
    • Clean Energy >
      • Renewable & Clean Portfolio Standard
      • Transmission
    • Energy Efficiency >
      • EEFA
    • GS4GND
    • Past Work
  • How
    • New Orleans City Council >
      • Council Actions
    • New Orleans Dockets >
      • UD-22-05 Hurricane Ida Costs
      • UD-22-04 Demand Solutions
      • UD-22-03 Battery Storage
      • UD-22-02 100% Renewable
      • UD-22-01 Storm Reserve
      • UD-21-03 Resilience
      • UD-21-02 Zeta Cost Recovery
      • UD-21-01 Winter Storm Uri
      • UD-20-02 IRP (2021)
      • UD-19-01 RPS
      • UD-18-07 ENO Rate Case
      • UD-18-02 EV Charging
      • UD-18-01 Smart Cities
      • UD-17-04 Reliability
      • UD-17-03 IRP (2018)
    • LA Public Service Commission >
      • LPSC 2022 Election
      • Engage with the LPSC
    • Lawsuits & Appeals
    • Climate Initiative Task Force
  • News
    • The Watchdog
    • People's Power Hour
    • MISO Soup
    • Hurricane Ida
    • Events Calendar >
      • AAE House Party
  • Learn
    • Glossary
    • Timeline
    • Reports
  • Get Involved
    • Support
    • Newsletter
    • Intern and Volunteer >
      • Wimpelberg Intern Fellowship
    • Contact Us