New Orleans could see less power outages through new project
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) — With a large New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board facility in the background, a top U.S. Energy Department official joined Entergy New Orleans in making an announcement.
“We’re here to announce the beginning of a new grid hardening project made possible by the Department of Energy. It’s a $2 million grant, and the project allows us to serve New Orleans and specifically this area of the city better by improvements to Leonidas and Hollygrove,” said Deanna Rodriguez, president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans.
Katie Jereza, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, stood next to Rodriguez.
“The upgrades are expected to strengthen grid reliability and resilience, reduce the frequency and duration of outages and help prevent the kind of physical damage that can make restoration more difficult following a storm,” Jereza said. “At the center of this project is a targeted effort to strengthening the local distribution system against the high winds that can accompany storms and hurricanes.”
As part of the project, 94 distribution poles will be upgraded.
Local residents like Danny Romain are praising the idea.
“Make it better for us,” Romain said.
The project will benefit residents and businesses as well as the SWBNO.
“The project will directly benefit more than 1,900 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in New Orleans, including a major Sewerage and Water Board facility,” said Jereza. “That means these improvements not only support homes and businesses but also infrastructure that provides essential services to this community.”
The $2 million federal grant covers part of the project.
“The cost not covered by the DOE grant is already baked into our rates; customers will not see an increase associated with this project,” an Entergy spokesperson said.
The project is also supposed to avoid millions in restoration costs.
“Entergy New Orleans estimates that the improvements through this project could result in approximately $7.4 million in savings from avoided customer power interruptions and reduced restoration costs over the next 50 years,” Jereza said.
Some funding is from the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed during President Biden’s time in office.
“There are different avenues of funding, and some of this comes from the IIJA bill that came forth,” Jereza said.
Around the country, America’s electric grid is aging.
“That is a massive task, and it’s over a trillion dollars of infrastructure that was built over the last hundred years, and we talked about how the design that we’re trying to meet, the wind standards for this local community; we’re seeing that across the country, so we’re doing upgrades all around the country,” Jereza stated.
The work announced in New Orleans is expected to be finished in two years.
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