NEW ORLEANS -- Entergy New Orleans is making a change at the top.
The local utility that supplies power to the city confirms President and CEO Charles Rice is stepping down. He is expected to take a lesser job in Entergy's legal department.
Entergy New Orleans has come under increased public scrutiny in recent months.
Ratepayers and city leaders slammed the utility for chronic power outages, paying actors to support of a new natural gas power plant and dragging its feet on promised renewable energy.
New Orleans author and public advocate Happy Johnson said Rice's departure gives Entegy New Orleans an opportunity to re-engage with the community.
"I think as a whole, the company was not listening to the demands of the community and the city council," Johnson said.
Entergy Corporation Group President Rod West will now add the role of interim Entergy New Orleans president.
Thursday West appeared before a city council committee and apologized for problems on Rice's watch.
"I know that we have not made your job easy in recent months," West said. "We are here to tell you that we plan to fix and address that."
City Council Utility Committee Chair Helena Moreno said changes needed to be made at Entergy New Orleans.
"I'm just looking for Entergy New Orleans to be more responsive to the needs of the people, to actually put the needs of the people first because we just haven't seen that," Moreno said. "At the end of the day, Entergy New Orleans and our dealings with them, at least for me over the past 100 days have been very difficult."
Johnson hopes the new Entergy New Orleans president will be laser focused on getting costs down.
"Right now, Orleans Parish residents pay more per kilowatt then any other parish in the entire state," Johnson said. "Our residents who are at the bottom of the income earning spend a total of 25 percent of their annual income on their Entergy bill."
A national search in now underway for Rice's replacement. Entergy confirms internal candidates are also under consideration to become the next president of Entergy New Orleans.