NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Entergy New Orleans has proposed building a $216 million natural gas-burning power plant in New Orleans East that will provide power during peak demand periods and post-storm repairs.
The New Orleans Advocate’s Richard Thompson reports the company applied to the City Council on Monday for approval to build the 226-megawatt plant at the site of its 1960s-era Michoud power plant.
Entergy deactivated two aging Michoud units this month, a decision driven largely by the equipment's rising maintenance costs.
The company said keeping the less-efficient units operating would have cost nearly as much as building the new plant, the company said.
Gary Huntley, Entergy New Orleans' vice president of regulatory and governmental affairs, says the proposal puts power-generating capacity back in Orleans Parish, which could improve reliability after a storm.
