NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana is now less than two weeks away from the start of the 2024 hurricane season.
Last week's severe weather and ultimate power outages really was a sense of deja vu, especially for Sharon Ryan. Electricity in her Metairie home has been restored, but the whole situation left her questioning if the Entergy grid is ready for hurricane season.
Ryan said, "It was hurricane-force winds, but it didn't last as long as a hurricane. So, what's going to happen if we get a bad hurricane, and the winds are blowing much longer than what that storm was? How long is that going to take then?"
Last Thursday's storms brought Category 1 hurricane-force winds upwards of 80 mph to parts of the New Orleans metro area. Ryan acknowledges the strength of the storm but says the bottom line is it was not a hurricane, so the power should not have had widespread outages.
"I don't know what's going on Entergy. They needed to get it together. I don't blame the linemen because they're doing their job. I think it's the higher-ups that need to figure out what's going on," Ryan said.
The New Orleans City Council has oversight of Entergy New Orleans.
Entergy Louisiana is responsible for power in Jefferson Parish.
In a statement to WWL Louisiana, they said:
"We understand how critical power is to the communities we serve. That’s why we perform year-round, routine maintenance and upgrades to our electric system, including trimming trees and limbs away from equipment and installing newer, stronger poles and power lines. Our efforts help prevent power outages, restore power more quickly if outages do occur, and mitigate the impacts of severe weather, as demonstrated in Jefferson Parish when the area experienced winds over 80 mph. While areas in other states could experience power outages for several more days, we avoided catastrophic damage to our transmission system and were able to restore power to thousands of customers quickly through field and substation switching efforts, along with other forms of utility work. While no electric system is bulletproof, we continually work to harden our system against storms and ensure safe and swift recovery. Additionally, the Louisiana Public Service Commission recently approved a five-year grid hardening plan to help ensure the reliability of the electric grid statewide for generations to come."
Advocates at Alliance for Affordable Energy say more needs to be done.
Jesse George the New Orleans Policy Director said, "I think Entergy, particularly as a company has you know, a corporate culture that is the same across its operating companies whether that's Entergy New Orleans or Entergy Louisiana. New Orleanians are largely dependent on its transmission infrastructure from Entergy Louisiana. They own the transmission lines that run into the city, and so were directly affected by the negligent maintenance of their infrastructure as well."
George said the lack of investment in the grid in the past plays a role in the frequent outages residents see on a normal day, let alone during severe weather.
"We know for a fact that these companies for years have neglected to maintain their infrastructure. They have neglected to spend money that they have collected from ratepayers for maintenance and instead used that money to pay out dividends to their shareholders," he said.
He said there needs to be more oversight across the board, especially with rate hikes on customers.
George said, "We're not sure whether this money is being spent in the best way possible. If it's truly the best resilience plan for Louisiana and Entergy Louisiana customers frankly, the Public Service Commission needs to use its own oversight to hold them more accountable. We need them to do better. My words are to the city council as regulators of Entergy too, hold them accountable."
Ryan agrees.
"Y'all need to get it together and figure out what's going on because it shouldn't come down to the wire like this every year because hurricane season starts next month."