In our last blog, I discussed a recent Entergy town hall in Algiers, where residents expected reliability, and demanded resilience. These New Orleanians were articulating what we all want: the grid to work today and to be more effective in the future.
Since Algiers, Entergy held two more town halls in Districts A and D, the latter in partnership with the mayor’s office. Also, an official from the Department of Energy came to New Orleans to highlight Phase One of Entergy’s resiliency projects. One important example included in Phase One: the installation of new poles across New Orleans that are capable of withstanding winds up to 140 mph. Upgrades like these new poles can mean the difference between having air conditioning or trying to sleep in an uncomfortably warm home.
In terms of planning for our city’s future, reliability and resiliency are both improved by grid hardening projects. Whenever we take steps to strengthen electrical infrastructure, like better poles, advanced line monitoring, or elevating infrastructure, these grid improvements all work to keep the power stable during normal days and to better withstand hurricane winds.
Since we know it’s only a matter of time until New Orleans faces its next major storm, I am urging the City Council to quickly start the process of approving Phase Two of Entergy’s resiliency plan.
As someone who believes in the future of New Orleans, I worry that too much of our infrastructure funding will continue to be Band-Aids instead of real investment in hardening our electric grid. Keep in mind, grid repairs after severe weather are more expensive than doing it before. We know for certain that New Orleans will see another major storm. We don’t call it hurricane season for nothing. It’s time to start Phase Two of resiliency and implement the plan for a better future.
