CHALMETTE, La. – Entergy Louisiana, alongside local elected officials, community leaders and project partners, celebrated the start of a major grid resilience project in St. Bernard Parish, marking another milestone in the company’s commitment to building a stronger, more reliable and affordable electric system for southeast Louisiana.
The project is part of Entergy Louisiana’s comprehensive Resilience Plan, a statewide initiative designed to strengthen the electric grid against extreme weather events while reducing future storm restoration costs and improving reliability for customers.
As part of this effort, Entergy Louisiana is investing approximately $13.5 million to enhance hundreds of power lines throughout St. Bernard Parish. The work includes replacing or reinforcing approximately 640 distribution and transmission poles with infrastructure engineered to withstand wind speeds of up to 150 mph. These upgrades will help harden the system and ensure faster restoration of outages following extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
“This project is another important step toward building a stronger, more resilient electric system for the customers and communities we serve,” said Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO. “By strengthening infrastructure in St. Bernard Parish, we’re improving reliability, reducing storm-related outages, and supporting the long-term growth and prosperity of this community.”
The St. Bernard Parish project is one component of Entergy Louisiana’s broader 10-year Resilience Plan, which includes approximately $2 billion in investments to strengthen the electric grid across the state. Through the plan, Entergy Louisiana is upgrading approximately 3,240 miles of power lines and 62,000 utility structures, helping reduce outages and speed restoration following major storms.
The upgrades in St. Bernard Parish are expected to provide significant benefits for customers and the local economy. By strengthening the electric system, the project will help protect critical industries, including port operations, manufacturers, petrochemical facilities and seafood processors, while reducing the risk of costly storm-related disruptions.
By making strategic investments in grid resilience today, Entergy Louisiana is helping protect customers from the rising costs associated with storm damage and emergency repairs while delivering a more reliable and affordable energy future. The St. Bernard Parish project alone is projected to avoid approximately $24 million in future storm restoration costs and provide an estimated $117.5 million in long-term capital maintenance and investment benefits over the next 50 years.
Work is expected to continue over the coming months as crews harden portions of the electric system across the parish.
About Entergy Louisiana
Entergy Louisiana provides electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in 58 parishes. Entergy Louisiana is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR). Entergy generates, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re focused on keeping costs for our customers as low as possible while providing reliable energy that our communities count on. We’re also investing in growth for the future with a more resilient, cleaner energy system that includes modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy generation. As a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, Entergy delivers more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at EntergyLouisiana.com and connect with @EntergyLA on social media.
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