Phase one of Entergy Louisiana’s comprehensive grid resilience plan approved by LPSC

News Release > Phase one of Entergy Louisiana's comprehensive grid resilience plan approved by LPSC

Phase one of Entergy Louisiana's comprehensive grid resilience plan approved by LPSC

04/19/2024

Phase one of Entergy Louisiana's comprehensive grid resilience plan was approved at today's Louisiana Public Service Commission meeting in Many, Louisiana. The plan, which will take place over five years, aims to fortify electric infrastructure across the state, making the company's power grid and the communities that depend on it more resilient, while safeguarding Louisiana's economic well-being.

"Our resilience plan is a proactive approach that will help bring more of our electric infrastructure up to higher standards, keep pace with Mother Nature and protect what matters most-customers, homes and businesses within the communities we serve," said Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO. "Although we have been building resilience into our power grid for years, we must accelerate those efforts now in light of the reality that storms are becoming more frequent and severe."

Phase one of the company's resilience plan includes 2,100 projects aimed at reinforcing critical structures on both the transmission and distribution systems. These projects, touching approximately 69,000 structures, are projected to yield a benefit-cost ratio of almost 9:1, indicating that the benefits will far outweigh the costs.

The company used a data-driven approach to meticulously evaluate thousands of potential storm scenarios to identify projects, many of which involve replacing existing utility poles with stronger ones designed to withstand higher winds and more extreme weather events. The anticipated benefits of the resilience plan include approximately $1.2 billion in avoided future storm restoration costs, improvements in the everyday reliability of electric service and customer savings related to shortening post-storm outages. By mitigating the restoration costs and outages resulting from future extreme weather events, the plan will help shorten evacuations and time away from home and work, ultimately helping Louisiana communities get back on their feet more quickly.

May added, "Louisiana and its people have long had a spirit of resilience and today's bold and historic approval by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, greenlighting efforts to harden our power grid, only strengthens that notion."

While phase one of the resilience plan is estimated to cost approximately $1.9 billion over five years, the initial monthly bill increase for a residential customer using approximately 1,000 kWh would be around 57 cents, steadily increasing to approximately $7 a month at the end of the five-year period, and then gradually decreasing over time. These costs will be reflected on monthly bills as an individual resilience program rider starting at the end of this year or early next year. Simultaneously, the company will continue aggressively seeking and applying for federal grants that, if received, would be applied toward the cost of the plan approved by the Commission and lower costs for all customers.

To ensure transparency and accountability, Entergy Louisiana will provide quarterly monitoring and construction reports and be subject to an unprecedented pole performance metric. If the new poles installed by the company do not withstand future storms as designed, bill credits would be provided to customers based on criteria that include failure percentages and pole material type.

To learn more about how Entergy is working to create a brighter, more resilient Louisiana, visit entergy.com/brightfuturela/.

About Entergy Louisiana

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in 58 parishes and natural gas service to approximately 95,000 customers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Entergy Louisiana is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, a Fortune 500 electric company. Entergy powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We're investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. For the latest news from Entergy Louisiana, visit the Newsroom and connect with @EntergyLA on social media.