Scores of irate New Orleans residents came to City Hall on Thursday demanding that the City Council scrap plans to let Entergy move forward with a proposed $210 million power plant in exchange for a $5 million fine.
After pondering for months whether to put the kibosh on Entergy's plans for a $210 million power plant in New Orleans East, the New Orleans Ci…
But even though council members at a Utility Committee meeting didn't formally endorse the plan with a vote, they allowed it to move toward approval. Councilwoman Helena Moreno, the committee's chairwoman, said the full council will consider the issue next week.
The resolution to let work on the plant go forward in exchange for a $5 million payment from Entergy was sponsored by all five committee members.
Moreno said ahead of the meeting's lengthy public comment period that it was "not prudent or possible" to scrap the project at this stage despite the paid-actors scandal that has called the council's original approval process into question.
But the impassioned pleas of more than 100 critics Thursday apparently convinced her and others to take no immediate action.
One of the critics was Mark Nguyen, who said the resolution was particularly troubling given the uproar the scandal has caused.
“You are the regulators of Entergy,” he told the council. “You do not reward bad decisions and bad behavior of your child with a brand-new car.”
Members of the New Orleans City Council will soon make a pivotal decision that will impact the future of the city. On Feb. 14, they’re schedul…
At issue for the council is whether its 6-1 approval of the plant's construction in March was so tainted by a scheme by an Entergy subcontractor to hire paid actors to endorse the project that the approval should be rescinded and reconsidered.
The council also has had to consider whether there are alternatives to the Entergy proposal that would not prove too costly for New Orleans residents and that have not already been considered.
In January, members appeared ready to side with the critics when they offered resolutions to walk back the earlier approval and fine Entergy $5 million over the scandal.
But the council later delayed its consideration of both resolutions. In the interim, Entergy has proposed new concessions and revealed that it had spent $96 million on the plant’s design and engineering.
The council’s advisers, after verifying the company’s invoices, said the $96 million would likely be charged to ratepayers even if the council cancels the plant.
Entergy New Orleans says it has spent at least $96 million on a planned New Orleans East power plant that was approved by the City Council las…
And they said Thursday that a failure to build the plant could leave the city open to sanctions from the North American Reliability Council, a nonprofit empowered by the federal government, if no alternative source of reliable power in emergencies is identified.
Before the committee passed on the chance to vote Thursday, support for the resolution also came from Ghassan Korban, executive director of the Sewerage & Water Board, who said the $5 million Entergy would pay from its own profits would help update antiquated equipment at his agency.
He said the cash-strapped S&WB needs about $2 million to upgrade a turbine used to power its water and sewer systems that currently doesn't function in cold weather. S&WB officials issued a boil-water order in November after Entergy power for its pumps was compromised, but colder temperatures kept the turbine sidelined.
About $4 million more would pay for equipment allowing for quick switches between Entergy-provided power sources, should one power source be knocked out.
And for about $1.5 million, the S&WB could replace two antiquated steam pumps with modern electric pumps. The current steam pumps must be cooled by water that is then dumped back into the drinking water system, which creates a contamination risk.
Korban acknowledged that his wish list totals more than $5 million, but he noted that every little bit helps.
"It is our hope to find some (other) funding to be able to do all three," he said.
If you dread seeing your Entergy bill each month, you’ll soon get a little help in your effort to curb your electricity use.
The council appeared sympathetic toward that position heading into Thursday's meeting. But after hearing dozens of arguments against the plant and only a few in support of it, the members avoided making any further strong statements.
Critics such as the Alliance for Affordable Energy pointed to a report from a California consultant, Strategen, which claimed that solar and other technologies could supplant the proposed 128-megawatt plant.
Others donned white T-shirts that read "No Gas Plant" and threw red and yellow flags they said were symbolic of the council's "no call" on Entergy's blatant misdeed, a reference to NFL officials' blown call during the Jan. 20 Saints game against the Los Angeles Rams. They accused members of kowtowing to Entergy rather than serving their constituents.
"You have taken the occasion of Valentine's Day to give Entergy a sweetheart deal," said Monique Harden of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.
Harden's group and others have filed a suit over the council's earlier approval of the plant but had pledged to drop the case if members held a new vote on the issue. She has said that promise is void under the resolution the council is now considering.
The full council is expected to vote on the matter Feb. 21.