Entergy New Orleans completes substation agreement with city Sewerage and Water Board

Entergy New Orleans will begin construction on a new substation at the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans’ (SWBNO) Carrollton site, the company announced Thursday.

The company said the 60 MW Sullivan substation is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. Once finished, it will increase reliability to SWBNO customers by providing service at the transmission level. Entergy New Orleans will own, operate and maintain the substation, which will benefit SWBNO and other New Orleanians.

“This is an important investment for the City of New Orleans that not only supports normal operations for the Sewerage and Water Board but the future economic growth in New Orleans. This critical infrastructure project is needed to help support reliable service to the Sewerage and Water Board for generations to come,” Entergy New Orleans President and CEO Deanna Rodriguez said. “Providing improved reliability at the transmission level is important to both the Sewerage & Water Board and their customers, who also happen to be our customers.”

The Sullivan substation will include two transmission lines and two transformers for redundancy on an estimated two acres of land. To increase resiliency, the substation will be raised to meet the 500-year flood elevation standard. The company said the substation will support a nearly 80 percent reduction in the city’s carbon emissions by switching to Entergy New Orleans’ more environmentally-friendly fleet.

The move comes after the New Orleans City Council approved an Agreement in Principle between SWBNO and Entergy New Orleans. The agreements require SWBNO to supply nearly $30 million through two milestone payments and for Entergy New Orleans to finance the substation costs exceeding $30 million.

“A dedicated electrical substation at the future Sewerage and Water Board’s West Power Complex is important infrastructure for New Orleans and will bring much-needed reliability and efficiency,” SWBNO Executive Director Ghassan Korban said. “A substation is part of building a modern power system. In addition to the substation, we are installing new backup turbines to provide in-house redundancy and added protection.”