Weeks after dozens of power outages struck several New Orleans East neighborhoods, New Orleans City Council members on Tuesday demanded answers from Entergy New Orleans, who largely blamed the issues on adverse weather, damaged poles and other problems.
In June there were 82 power outages in New Orleans East — 57 of which were not related to Tropical Storm Arthur, which swept the Southeast region earlier this month and left nearly 40,000 customers without power statewide, utility officials told a City Council committee on Tuesday.
Instead, people’s lights were cut off after foil balloons hit power lines, after cars rammed into power poles, after animals damaged equipment and because of underground infrastructure problems, officials said. The North Kenilworth neighborhood, in particular, was hit hard on three separate occasions, including over the weekend on June 28…