NEW ORLEANS—It is a big win for the Sewerage & Water Board who voted to now switch to Entergy New Orleans to power its drainage system operations.
A meeting was held today at City Council Chambers, where Sewerage & Water Board and Entergy presented, and then the City voted on the plan to move forward.
“I often look for words that define a moment and the first word that comes to mind is alignment,” Ghassan Korban, Executive Director of the Sewerage & Water Board New Orleans said.
The Sewerage & Water Board is finally feeling aligned now that they have a plan to fix the pump’s power issues that have plagued the city for years.
“It is just an awesome project that we are all rallying behind because it makes sense,” Korban said.
The plan is a $74-million deal between S&B and Entergy to build a power substation at the Carrollton Water Plant by the 2023 hurricane season. The substation would use Entergy’s power transmission system, instead of the Sewerage & Water Board’s older equipment.
“The substation will help clean our drinking water and power the pumps during rainstorms,” Joe Giarrusso, Councilmember-District A said.
Preventing flooding is key and that’s why the power will help to fix.
“This gets us to the point of having a stable, reliable, self-efficient energy source, which we have not had. We all know we are threatened by water. You don’t have to have a hurricane. Three guys could pour beer out on the street and we might flood, we know that,” Jay Banks, Councilmember-District B said.
Entergy would feed the power through frequency changers. The goal is to convert all the pumps from 25 hz of power to 60 hz of power over 20 years. This project will also reduce carbon emissions by 45 percent. All this at no extra cost to Entergy and Sewerage & Water Board customers.
“Improved reliability, cost savings, and the environmental benefits. Those three goals we share with the council and Sewerage & Water Board,” Deanna Rodriguez, CEO and President of Entergy New Orleans said.
“This fundamentally reshapes the Sewerage & Water Board’s effectiveness, which in turn reshapes our lives in the City of New Orleans for the better,” Helena Moreno, Councilmember At-Large said.
Under this deal, $20-million dollars will come from state funds to build this new substation. Another $20-million will come from a city bond issue. The rest of the funds will be paid by Entergy, and they will recoup the money from Sewerage & Water Board rates.