Energy-burdened Louisiana residents brace for another bill

UTILITIES: Louisiana residents worry about Entergy’s plan to sell its natural gas distribution system to a private equity group, which will lead to separate gas and electric bills and likely cause customers to pay more in a state that already has an above-average energy burden. (Louisiana Illuminator)

ALSO:

• CenterPoint Energy’s CEO has defended paying $800 million to lease large generators that went unused during Houston’s mass blackouts during Hurricane Beryl, but documents raise numerous questions about the deal’s cost and the qualifications of the company that handled it. (Houston Chronicle)
• Austin, Texas’ municipal utility considers 17 options for its new generation plan as environmentalists tell the city council they do not want a new gas-fired power plant. (Austin Monitor)
• Tennessee residents and environmentalists criticize the Tennessee Valley Authority for relying too much on fossil fuels and natural gas expansion in its newest long-term planning proposal. (WKRN)

SOLAR:

• Ten Louisiana ​“community lighthouses” outfitted with commercial-scale solar and battery storage to provide power during blackouts got their first test during Hurricane Francine earlier this month. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority signs a power purchase agreement to take the output of a 200 MW solar farm under construction in Mississippi. (Renewables Now)
• A small-town grocery store in Kentucky uses a solar array to lower its energy costs. (Resource Rural)
• Virginia residents have mixed reactions to a farmer’s plan to lease land for a solar facility. (WTKR)
• Virginia solar advocates plan an open house event to discuss large- and community-scale solar development. (Cardinal News)

TRANSITION: There’s been little progress on plans to convert a troubled West Virginia coal-fired power plant to run on hydrogen, and its new owners have operated it barely half the time since acquiring it a year ago. (West Virginia Public Broadcasting)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Federal officials designate Canoo’s electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma as a Foreign Trade Zone, which exempts them from import tariffs. (Oklahoman)

NUCLEAR: One of Georgia Power’s new units at its nuclear Plant Vogtle has been offline for a week after a valve problem led to a shutdown. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, subscription)

GRID:

• Utility customers in Texas and elsewhere are signing up for programs to save money in return for allowing power companies to remotely adjust their thermostats to manage grid demand. (Washington Post)
• Arkansas utilities Entergy and Central Arkansas Water make improvements to facilities to withstand severe weather events. (El Dorado News-Times)

CLIMATE: Insurance costs spike an average of 33% from 2020 to 2023, and some insurers are withdrawing altogether from areas like Florida and the Gulf Coast as climate change increases the likelihood of disasters. (Grist)

POLITICS:

• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will tout more than $20 billion in clean energy investments made in the state during a climate conference in New York. (Raleigh News & Observer, New York Times)
• Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticizes electric vehicles during a speech in Georgia, which has become the EV manufacturing capital of the U.S. thanks to the federal climate law. (GPB)