Latest news with #Entergy
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Power outage planned in Plaquemine for early morning hours of Father's Day
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A scheduled six-hour power outage on Father's Day will impact all City of Plaquemine utility customers. Entergy Louisiana told city officials that the outage will be from midnight to 6 a.m. June 15. Crews will be changing out equipment at a substation that powers the city. According to local leaders, the city doesn't get its electrical power from Entergy but uses the company's transmission lines and substation to get power. Officials encouraged residents to make appropriate plans ahead of the planned outage. Entergy suggests: Turning off electronic devices and appliances until five minutes after service is restored. Checking batteries in flashlights. Turning the fridge thermostat to its coldest setting and keeping the doors closed. Notify alarm companies if needed. How to keep Entergy bills low while staying cool this summer Video appears to show escaped New Orleans inmate Antoine Massey pleading case Trump team emphasizes immigration in Boulder response Pop-Tarts brings back 'fan-favorite' flavor after 6-year hiatus Power outage planned in Plaquemine for early morning hours of Father's Day Secret recording leads to Fla. child trafficking victim's rescue after sister calls 911: sheriff Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gulf policymakers detail efforts to brace for 2025 hurricanes
Gulf Coast policymakers on Monday laid out efforts to brace for what's expected to be an active hurricane season during a Hill event titled 'Securing the Grid – Powering the Gulf South Region.' Eric Skrmetta, vice chair of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, said the durability of the power grid needs to improve, including calling for infrastructure that can help manage the flow of power. 'We're looking at the durability of [the] transmission grid, more than anything,' Skrmetta said when asked about hurricane season. 'We need supplies and we need mechanisms. We're going to need to build transformer manufacturing facilities,' he added. Skrmetta said the state has 'been in discussions with the Pentagon about the need for building one, possibly in Louisiana, Oklahoma, [or] Texas.' The 'Securing the Grid' event, which was sponsored by electric company Entergy, comes one day after the official start of hurricane season. U.S. weather agencies have predicted an 'above average' season, which could see between three and five major hurricanes. 'You're seeing our energy suppliers here in Texas put in more steel poles instead of wooden poles. There's a move to get as much of that infrastructure, if you will, below ground,' said Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas). It's not just hurricanes though that have taken a toll on Texas's electric grid. During 2021's Winter Storm Uri, the state faced massive blackouts that killed hundreds of people. The state has implemented significant reforms since that time, but Weber still said it's in bad shape — and criticized the Biden administration over electric vehicles in the process. 'It's really bad,' Weber said when asked to grade the state of the grid. 'They wanted to put 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. They did put it in that bill and we don't have the grid to support that. So we're wanting to make sure that everybody understands that we ought to have nuclear,' he added, referring to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for a nationwide electric vehicle charging network. Meanwhile, Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) said he'd give his state a 'B-plus' as far as infrastructure and storm response. 'Louisiana has been a very good student. It has done the preparation, and I think understanding of investing in our shorelines in our floodplains and our levees,' Carter said, but added 'we still have work to do.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Gulf policymakers detail efforts to brace for 2025 hurricanes
Gulf Coast policymakers on Monday laid out efforts to brace for what's expected to be an active hurricane season during a Hill event titled 'Securing the Grid – Powering the Gulf South Region.' Eric Skrmetta, vice chair of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, said the durability of the power grid needs to improve, including calling for infrastructure that can help manage the flow of power. 'We're looking at the durability of [the] transmission grid, more than anything,' Skrmetta said when asked about hurricane season. 'We need supplies and we need mechanisms. We're going to need to build transformer manufacturing facilities,' he added. Skrmetta said the state has 'been in discussions with the Pentagon about the need for building one, possibly in Louisiana, Oklahoma, [or] Texas.' The 'Securing the Grid' event, which was sponsored by electric company Entergy, comes one day after the official start of hurricane season. U.S. weather agencies have predicted an 'above average' season, which could see between three and five major hurricanes. 'You're seeing our energy suppliers here in Texas put in more steel poles instead of wooden poles. There's a move to get as much of that infrastructure, if you will, below ground,' said Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas). It's not just hurricanes though that have taken a toll on Texas's electric grid. During 2021's Winter Storm Uri, the state faced massive blackouts that killed hundreds of people. The state has implemented significant reforms since that time, but Weber still said it's in bad shape — and criticized the Biden administration over electric vehicles in the process. 'It's really bad,' Weber said when asked to grade the state of the grid. 'They wanted to put 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. They did put it in that bill and we don't have the grid to support that. So we're wanting to make sure that everybody understands that we ought to have nuclear,' he added, referring to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for a nationwide electric vehicle charging network. Meanwhile, Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) said he'd give his state a 'B-plus' as far as infrastructure and storm response. 'Louisiana has been a very good student. It has done the preparation, and I think understanding of investing in our shorelines in our floodplains and our levees,' Carter said, but added 'we still have work to do.'
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US approves environmental review for Michigan nuclear plant restart
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. on Friday said Holtec's planned restart of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan would not harm the environment, a needed step in its plan to become the first such plant to return from permanent shutdown. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducted the environmental review of the Palisades reactor restart with the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office. Opponents of the restart had expressed concerns that steam generator tubes at Palisades are degraded because standard maintenance procedures were not followed when the plant went into shutdown. Holtec says it is plugging the tubes. The LPO, which supports nuclear projects that are unable to get bank loans, closed a $1.52 billion loan guarantee for the Palisades restart in September 2024. President Donald Trump's administration provided the third disbursement of that financing, nearly $47 million, in April. Power company Entergy (ETR.N), opens new tab shut the 800-megawatt Palisades reactor in 2022, two weeks ahead of schedule over a glitch with a control rod. It had generated electricity for more than 50 years. Holtec bought the plant to decommission it, but now hopes to reopen it. U.S. power demand has been rising for the first time in two decades on the boom in data centers and artificial intelligence. Holtec says Palisades could reopen as soon as October. But it needs additional permits from the NRC. "Pending all federal reviews and approvals, our restart project is on track and on budget to bring Palisades back online by the fourth quarter of the year," said Holtec spokesperson Nick Culp. Alan Blind, engineering director at the plant from 2006 to 2013, said in an editorial this month that if steam generator problems lead to a shutdown, it would "erode public confidence, damage investor trust, and raise serious safety concerns." The NRC is reviewing Holtec's proposed repairs, said Scott Burnell, an agency spokesperson. "Holtec must demonstrate the Palisades steam generators will fulfill their safety functions before the plant restarts," Burnell said.
Axios
6 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Why New Orleans is the only U.S. city to regulate its investor-owned power company
After more than 100,000 Entergy customers lost power across southeast Louisiana over Memorial Day weekend in a regional regulator's bid to ease grid strain, officials are asking why no one had advance notice of the potential for outages. Why it matters: New Orleans will have a unique seat at the table alongside state regulators as they press for answers, creating an opportunity to elevate its residents' interests. Fun fact: New Orleans is the only city in the country that regulates its own investor-owned power utility in this way. For the most part, other cities in Louisiana leave it up to the state to regulate the utility. (Washington, D.C., also regulates its own power, but it exists outside state regulation and has a separate commission for the purpose.) Flashback: By the time Louisiana created its own statewide utility regulatory body (the Public Service Commission) with the 1921 state constitution, New Orleans was already serving as its own regulator, according to Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, based on power granted to it by the city charter. That constitution, Lewis tells Axios New Orleans, "included a carve-out that municipal systems would not be subject to regulatory authority without a vote of the people." That's why, for example, the LPSC doesn't regulate power in Lafayette, which has its own citizen-owned public power utility. Over the years, Lewis says, New Orleans has fought to keep its own regulating authority, even though it doesn't have a publicly owned utility. "It's been the nature of New Orleans to separate itself from portions of state law and state statute," he says. State of play: It's not clear exactly why the city wanted to keep its own regulatory authority when the LPSC was first created, but the Alliance for Affordable Energy's Yvonne Cappel-Vickery says New Orleans' needs are different from the rest of the state. "New Orleans is a transmission island," she says, which many didn't realize until Hurricane Ida, when downed transmission lines took out power for the whole city. "All power that comes in has to travel over water via transmission wires to get to us," Cappel-Vickery says, "so those needs are pretty unique compared to the whole state's needs, and New Orleans has always had a different political makeup than the larger state." Yes, but: For a short time in the 1980s, New Orleans did give regulatory control to the LPSC, but took it back over the cost of building the Grand Gulf nuclear power facility, according to the Alliance for Affordable Energy. Between the lines: New Orleans has also considered taking over its power production at various points in the past century or so. The city technically has the right to buy out its production from Entergy, Gambit reported in 2022, but few cities in modern history have successfully made the expensive and complicated transition from private to public power ownership.
