Entergy Louisiana’s plan to upgrade its power transmission and distribution systems across the state will cost customers $1.9 billion, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved Entergy Louisiana’s spending proposal for the first phase of its “Future Ready Resilience Plan” on Friday.
With the commission’s approval, Entergy can charge $1.9 billion to its customers to pay for more than 2,100 “grid-hardening” projects across the state, though PSC Commissioner Davanté Lewis, D-Baton Rouge, and other critics of the plan say it should include a wider variety of data-driven solutions.
The cost of the plan will be added to customers’ monthly bills over a five-year period. The average customer can expect a fee of less than a dollar per month beginning in 2025, and that amount is expected to increase exponentially as time progresses until it reaches roughly $8 per month during the final year of the plan.
The initiative includes replacing or upgrading approximately 69,000 utility poles and other structures across the state and strengthening approximately 3,238 miles of power line.
Entergy’s plan also includes approximately 100 miles of underground power lines, roughly 3% of the total line being strengthened.
Commissioner Craig Greene, R-Baton Rouge, gave his full support to the grid-hardening plan, saying it is long overdue and badly needed.
