Entergy New Orleans launches 10-year, $1B initiative to harden its grid
Entergy New Orleans launched a power infrastructure program this week that is designed to make the city’s grid stronger and better prepared to handle more frequent and stronger storms.
The program, called Operation Gridiron, was developed in response to a request by the New Orleans City Council following Hurricane Ida in 2021. The goal is to provide New Orleans with one of the most storm-ready power infrastructures in the United States.
“In the coming weeks, you will see ‘Operation: Gridiron’ signs popping up all over the city,” Entergy New Orleans President and CEO Deanna Rodriguez said. “Each of these signs marks the location of projects that will strengthen our energy infrastructure in these neighborhoods to enable us to keep the lights on longer when a storm hits, and to restore power more quickly when it is disrupted.”
Under this plan, Entergy New Orleans will invest $1 billion in its grid over 10 years in two, five-year phases. It will involve upgrading thousands of poles to withstand 150 mph winds, and the hardening of 650 miles of power lines. It will seek to cut outage times by more than half and save customers millions of dollars.
The proposal is before the City Council for their consideration and approval.
Entergy New Orleans will be meeting directly with residents in the coming weeks at town hall events in each council district. The first was held this week at Dillard University in District D.
Entergy New Orleans provides electricity to more than 209,000 customers and natural gas to more than 110,000 customers in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation.
