Power was fully restored by 8 p.m. Sunday to nearly 100,000 people in the New Orleans area, who spent several hours in the dark during a power outage that Entergy said was an intentional, “last resort” effort to reduce strain on the power supply.
Unlike other recent outages that have been caused by everything from storm damage to Mylar balloons, Sunday’s blackout was a purposeful “load shed” ordered by the regional transmission organization, MISO.
Here’s what we know so far.
What is MISO?
MISO is a regional electricity grid operator that manages the bulk power transmission system and wholesale electricity markets in parts of 15 states from the Canadian border to the Gulf Coast.
A directive from MISO calling for reduced load is ultimately what forced Entergy to cut power to so many customers.
What is a load shed?
Also commonly referred to as a “brown out,” load shedding is a protective measure used to prevent a gridwide failure, usually during an emergency or times of high demand. By temporarily and periodically cutting power to some of the grid, utility companies can prevent the kinds of serious issues that could lead to more extensive, longterm outages.
Why was the outage necessary?
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis, whose district includes the New Orleans area, said one Entergy generator was offline Sunday for routine maintenance when a second generator that powers the area failed. Lewis was unsure if the second generator belongs to Entergy or Cleco.
At the same time, demand for power was greater than had been forecast, he said.
But daytime highs Sunday were far below their summer peak, raising questions about the area’s power grid heading into summer and the start of hurricane season.
Who was impacted?
At the height of Sunday’s outage, roughly 52,000 Entergy customers in Orleans Parish were without power, including the entirety of Lakeview and portions of the Industrial Canal, Gentilly, Mid-City and Uptown.
In Jefferson Parish, another 35,800 customers were without power, along with 6,000 customers in St. Bernard Parish and another 6,500 in Plaquemines Parish.
Cleco customers in the northshore also are affected, according to Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis.
Power was fully restored by 8 p.m. across the metro area.
Why wasn’t there any warning?
New Orleans City Council members Joe Giarrusso and Helena Moreno said MISO warned Entergy of the outage just three minutes before turning off the power, but it’s not clear why there was so little notice.
“How does this happen?” Giarrusso said. “There are lots of questions that need answering.”
