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NEW ORLEANS - On Tuesday, January 30, the City Council’s Climate and Sustainability Committee will consider approving more than $100 million in electrical grid improvements, the largest single upgrade to the New Orleans grid in history.
The three project scopes for consideration on Tuesday include a significant transmission upgrade to import energy into New Orleans from the west and north, a major failure point that was identified as the primary cause of the citywide multi-week outage after Hurricane Ida; distribution (poles/wires) improvements in New Orleans East; and a grid-scale battery energy storage project.
The three project scopes are all backed by a 50 percent match in federal funding and result from the Council’s resiliency docket filed after Hurricane Ida. This directive requires Entergy New Orleans to identify projects to improve and strengthen the city’s electric grid. Since the creation of the resiliency docket by Council President Helena Moreno, she and the Council have been clear that the cost of the projects should not be all on the backs of ratepayers, and this first set of projects is an example of how the Council will prioritize mitigating bill increases.
“Already, the people of New Orleans are dealing with the tremendous cost of living expenses, from housing to insurance, and while we know that it is critical to strengthen the grid against outages, these major investments shouldn’t be solely paid for by Entergy New Orleans customers,” Council President Moreno said. “We have to work to find additional funding opportunities. I appreciate the company hearing this call and applying for federal grants, and I’m grateful to the Biden Administration’s prioritization of these projects.”
The federal grants represent the largest-ever single investment in New Orleans’ electricity grid and require compliance with the Biden Admin’s Justice40 requirements, which dictate that 40 percent of the benefits of these federal investments flow to local businesses and community organizations.
The projects up for approval Tuesday are also part of a more extensive set of projects Entergy has submitted, costing $549 million for its first phase. Additional investments will be considered in the near future, along with a set of guidelines tying accountability and metrics to projects. This will provide the necessary measurements to determine whether projects meet the overall goal of creating a more dependable grid.
Beginning next month, the Council will proceed with a stakeholder process to enact those increasing standards and set long-term cycles of accountability and investments to plan and build the future electrical system we all want to see for New Orleans.
“Resilience is reliability on your worst day,” said Council Vice President and Utility Chair JP Morrell. “We know people are long past tired of the twin insults of higher bills and unexplained weekly outages. That’s why we’re prioritizing overall reliability - keeping the lights on in all conditions, not just the worst ones - in our future investments.”
“I have worked hand in hand with the Biden Administration to ensure that the people of New Orleans are prioritized,” said Congressman Troy Carter. “It’s exciting to see these funds put into motion by Council President Moreno and the entire City Council for a more inclusive, resilient future for all of us. I look forward to continuing our partnership with all stakeholders to deliver more resources for the people of New Orleans. With these investments, we are fortifying our electrical grid against the escalating impacts of climate change, fostering community resilience and committing to social equity.”
The Climate and Sustainability Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 30, at 10 a.m.
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