On Sunday afternoon, power outages affected nearly 100,000 Entergy customers in the New Orleans area during a heatwave, raising concerns about the power grid ahead of hurricane season. Unlike past outages caused by mechanical issues or wildlife, this incident involved a “loaded” or brownout—an intentional reduction in electricity supply to prevent blackouts.
At peak times, over 52,000 Orleans Parish customers were without power, including areas like Tremé and the Garden District. Jefferson Parish faced around 35,800 outages, with additional impacts on St. Bernard’s Parish and Cleco customers. Entergy announced that the brownouts were ordered by MISO, the reliability coordinator, to manage power supply under stressful conditions.
City Council members expressed frustration at the lack of communication from Entergy, which gave only a brief warning before cutting power. Louisiana Public Services Commissioner Davante Lewis mentioned that ongoing maintenance on a generator coincided with unexpectedly high electricity demand.
Concerns were raised about whether the grid can handle the demands of climate change, with Lewis noting this was the third brownout since April. Council member Helena Moreno called for explanations regarding the decision, stating the need for a discussion on grid capacity and reliability amid rising climate challenges.
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