BP just handed me a link to this Fast Company story which lays out a history of Entergy failures and alleged corruption in “service” of its Louisiana customers. ‘Seemed more than worthy of inclusion here on GMD.
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There’s nothing like the Super Bowl to command media attention.
That’s why CEO’s will sell their firstborn to buy ad time, and Madison Avenue touts outdo each other to make their multi-million dollar seconds the ones everyone remembers.
But this year’s Superbowl standout had to be the 34 minute power outage, sponsored by none other than Entergy New Orleans.
Yes, that same Entergy; or at least its evil twin.
Of course, Entergy has blamed a failure of equipment at the Superdome for the outage, and insists power was flowing to the stadium at the time the lights blinked out. Nevertheless, at least at my house, there were knowingly raised eyebrows.
So what is the take-away from this blockbuster power poop-out? Maybe it’s just a reminder that we all had better be prepared for some spectacular failures as consumption inevitably ticks up with the return of economic vitality, and aging transmission infrastructure continues to decline under the questionable stewardship of “private enterprise.”
It’s only a coincidence that Entergy New Orleans played a role in the Superbowl blackout just as we revisited the whopper told by Entergy Louisiana to our own Public Service Board; but it did my heart good to imagine Entergy executives fanning away palpitations up in their mink-lined sky box, knowing full well what the coming week has in store for them.
shifted the blame about as fast as humanly possible.Their stock price was just creeping up to former highs too.
The Superdome’s electrical system functioned as it was supposed to.
It detected an “abnormality in the power load” coming from Entergy, and did what it was supposed to do: shut down to save the system.
Entergy’s first instinct, as usual, was to insist “It’s not us. It’s someone else’s fault.”
Reliable? Not so much.
And yes, it was Entergy’s fault, not the Superdome’s:
I’d like to think that someone at the NRC’s press office, upon hearing the word “Entergy,” reflexively issued a statement assuring us that there was “no threat to public health or safety.”
I must admit I was smirking…thanks for the laugh Sue! Of all the things this Superbowl will be noted for-an over 1/2 hour blackout in their hometown of all things, Entergy will wear this one forever, love it.
that sources say Entergy, not Superdome staff, was in control of the breakers that initiated the power failure.
Not surprisingly, Entergy was having nothing to say about this new revelation.
http://www.clf.org/blog/clean-…
-Sandy Levine, CLF