Letters: Following up with utility companies after Francine

The unfortunate reality of southeast Louisiana is that not only do we have to be prepared for hurricanes, we have to be ready for the prolonged power outages that follow. Without power, our homes reach dangerous temperatures, our small businesses lose revenue and our medically vulnerable neighbors suffer. As a public service commissioner, I am responsible for ensuring those outages are as brief and infrequent as possible. That is why I spent the days following Hurricane Francine alongside Entergy Louisiana and DEMCO in the field and at their command centers to fully understand their restoration operations and planning.

What I saw was the mobilization of 6,000 linemen to restore electricity to 409,000 Louisiana customers and estimated restoration times being communicated within 24 hours of the storm. I saw work crews working all hours to clear fallen vegetation that accounted for the majority of outages.  And as always, I saw Louisianans working together to take care of their neighbors and communities.

However, we know Francine was not a one-off event, it was a stress test of our system. Because of this, I will be asking utility companies for complete post-mortem reports. I will also continue to double down on the grid performance work needed to provide better outcomes next time. For me, this means prioritizing three ongoing commission proceedings in particular: continuing to explore the best options for pole viability and attachments; keeping a close eye on reliability and maintenance standards, including the penalization of fair weather outages and long-duration outages; and fast-tracking our resilience and grid-hardening docket to ensure that companies are making appropriate investments and enhancing technologies to keep us safe.

I’m grateful for the work utility companies put in to ensure a broad and efficient recovery from Francine. I will also continue to hold them accountable to proving their commitment to reliability and resiliency in preparation for the next storm.

DAVANTE LEWIS

public service commissioner, District 3