Entergy Louisiana begins construction to upgrade electric system
Entergy Louisiana is underway on a $100 million project to upgrade the electric infrastructure in the West Bank of Jefferson Parish and Plaquemines Parish.
Specifically, they will construct a new substation, make improvements to several existing substations, add a new transmission line, and upgrade several existing transmission lines.
The project is expected to be finished in mid-2020.
The new substation will be built between Westwego and Avondale and will serve as a junction point for several existing and new 230kV lines. The Alliance and Barataria stations are undergoing expansions to support planned and future 230kV lines. There will also be storm-hardening measures at these locations. Also, at the existing Westwego stations, improvements will include adding capacity to accommodate additional load growth. Further, work will be done at the Ninemile, Estelle, and Waterford to tier the new Churchill substation to the electrical grid.
When finished, these facilities will provide a 230kV transmission loop in Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes for additional capacity. It will also create a new 115kV source for customers in the Westwego area. Overall, they will generate greater operational flexibility when outages occur or maintenance is necessary.
“Entergy Louisiana is investing in new infrastructure to meet the region’s growing demand and ensure that everyone has access to reliable energy,” Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, said. “This project not only enhances the availability of affordable power for our customers in Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes, but it will form a foundation for future reliability and storm resiliency projects across southeast Louisiana.”
Entergy Louisiana provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to nearly 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area.
