In Defense of Entergy

I've been on this board for the better part of the last week defending Entergy's response to the storm. I completely understand that a lot of it was brought on by frustration, but there have also been some pretty uninformed comments. As I have said before, I have family and friends directly involved in the restoration efforts, and this has been a part of my life since I was old enough to remember.

My defense is not just about personal involvement. The fact of the matter is Entergy is one of if not the best in the business when it comes to storm restoration. They continually win national awards for their in house restoration efforts, also for when they go to other areas to assist in restoring power. If there is a problem in another part of the country, those states call Entergy first to come assist.

As of this morning, they've restored 84% of the outages within 72 hrs of being able to get to work. Instead of an investigation, they will probably win another restoration award.

See below for a few articles about this and other related topics.

Entergy wins Restoration award for the 14th Straight Year.


Info on how power gets to your house.

Regulation
(A key point: As a regulated power provider, the state sets the rate Entergy can charge you. So next time you want to complain about your hurricane charges or fuel surcharge, call your local politician.)

Also, I've seen several people allege Entergy did not have rooms for all of their workers. You are partially correct. Many of the hotels Entergy has prearranged for this sort of thing in the NOLA area refused to give up their space due to Decadence Fest. You'll probably see tent cities in places around town. (There's one in Hammond I've passed by several times in the last few days). So, not only are these guys working day and night, many are also staying in a tent city doing it. Just FYI.