The Louisiana Public Service Commission is one of the few in the nation where there are no restrictions on when, where and how often commissioners can communicate with the utilities they regulate. (Louisiana Public Service Commission YouTube channel)
This past April, days before a Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) meeting at a remote lakefront resort, the state’s largest power company dropped a bombshell. Entergy asked the panel to vote, four months ahead of schedule, on an ambitious resilience plan that would cost nearly $2 billion.
A consumer watchdog group and the state’s refineries and chemical plants formally objected, saying the process was “unnecessarily fast-tracked” and that Entergy had provided “insufficient information” to evaluate the plan, which included replacing and strengthening utility poles and power lines and protecting substations from flooding.
Despite these objections, the item was added to the commission’s agenda. “This is (a) wholly undemocratic process,” James Hiatt, who drove two hours to be at the meeting, told the PSC. “Why does it need to be rushed through today?”