NEW ORLEANS — A utility giant can go ahead with a planned gas-fired power plant in eastern New Orleans, but will pay a $5 million penalty in the wake of a scandal involving actors who were paid to express phony support for the project in public hearings.
The New Orleans City Council unanimously approved a resolution including the penalty Thursday evening. It did not revoke permission for Entergy New Orleans to build the plant, as some plant opponents wanted.
Supporters of the plant say it's needed to ensure reliable power at peak usage times. Opponents expressed concerns over emissions and the cost of the project.
Opponents of the plant angrily opposed the settlement at a committee hearing last week. And they returned for Thursday's full council meeting. They are concerned about the plant's cost and environmental effects. They say the project should be scuttled or the regulatory review process should begin anew.
The vote will allow Entergy to go ahead with a new power plant project and pay a $5 million penalty for using paid actors go express support for the project at past hearings.
The plant was under scrutiny from the beginning, but criticism hit a high note after it was found that paid actors were in attendance at several key meetings in 2018, showing support for and in some cases speaking on behalf of the plant.
Entergy repeatedly denied planning the participation by the paid actors, but later said that a contractor in turn contracted with a group that provided crowds on demand without its knowledge. The company filed a lawsuit against Hawthorn Group, a former contractor, who Entergy said “grossly deviated from the applicable standard of care of similar professionals and acted in bad faith.”
Thursday, the council passed a resolution that would fine Entergy $5 million and put several regulations on the company and the plant, but the council will not re-vote on the decision to approve the plant.
According to a statement from Moreno, Banks and Giarrusso that was issued more than a week ago, the resolution “imposes cost protections for the ratepayers, ensuring that customers do not shoulder out-of-control costs during the construction process” and will have Entergy “submit to stipulated and rigorous maintenance requirements to ensure the plant doesn't decay as Entergy's distribution network has.”
Several council members gave passionate defenses of their vote, admitting that many did not agree with them. Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen, who is the council member from the district where the plant will be built, said that her own family lives in the district where the plant will be built.
Entergy New Orleans released a statement to Eyewitness News in recent weeks, saying that the power plant remains the cornerstone of the company's plan to address an urgent need for preventing power outages. Without it, they say, the city is at risk. -- something Guidry calls fear mongering.