NEW ORLEANS – From Entergy:
Entergy is committed to helping Louisiana build a stronger and more resilient electric infrastructure and mitigating bill impacts on customers following the severe weather events of 2020 and 2021.
Deanna Rodriguez, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans, and Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to meet with the Louisiana delegation’s two members of the Senate and all six members of the House of Representatives to advocate for federal funding to reduce the impact on customers for storm recovery costs and to build a stronger power grid. Building electrical infrastructure strong enough to withstand the increased intensity and frequency of storms is a long-term commitment that must include input from customers, regulators and government policymakers.
“We all agree that investments in hardening the electric grid are necessary, but they are not small investments,” said Rodriguez. “Entergy must balance investments in hardening while considering both the increasingly intense hurricane activity to our area and our customer populations that may be struggling to pay their bills.”
“Entergy has invested billions of dollars in improvements over the last several years across Louisiana to harden the electrical system to make it more resilient to storms,” said May. “These investments were critical in helping Louisiana recover as quickly as we did following Hurricane Ida’s destructive land fall. We are considering all available avenues to recover storm-related costs in a manner that will minimize the effects on customers, including both federal government assistance and securitization financing.”