NEW ORLEANS – Power outages have been a constant problem in the New Orleans region for quite some time. However, help could be on the way as soon as this year.
“This is an important project the mayor made as the pandemic broke out in early March,” Deputy CAO for Infrastructure and Chief Resilience Officer, Ramsey Green shared.
That project? A Citywide Emergency Generators Program. A- close to- $800,000 effort that will allow the connection of generators to give electricity when power is down. The plan also provides temporary cooling centers at nine NORD locations during power outages and serves as shelter during intense weather events.
“Neighbors need safe spaces where they can go to protect themselves, to protect one another, and at the time of a disaster, you need those spaces more than ever,” said Mayor Cantrell.
We’re told, all nine cooling centers will hold at least 1,600 people. Some cooling centers could hold up to 4,000. “That means that people have confidence that if they’re not able to financially leave the city, that they can go to a secure place and be with friends and residents that are all going through the same thing at the same time,” New Orleans resident, Marie Shortbenoit told us.
The Citywide Emergency Generators Program is expected to be ready by December. The city won’t have the physical generators until a disaster is detected. If needed they’ll go to Homeland Security, the National Guard or FEMA.
Mayor Cantrell says, the goal is to keep residents as secure as possible.”This is about moving our city forward and being resilient in the process which our people have demonstrated,” said Cantrell. “We know how to move through challenges; this is not a precedent in the City of New Orleans!”
To sign up to utilize a temporary cooling center, visit https://ready.nola.gov/home/.
