On Tuesday September 4th, I finally had my electricity restored by Entergy LA after not having it since last Tuesday, August 28th. I am relieved to not have to use my candles and flashlights anymore and I am over joyed to be able to turn on the aircon and refill my fridge after having to throw everything besides my supplements out, but I am still upset by the lack of timely response by Entergy, who happens to have the monopoly on power energy in New Orleans. This power outage was the result of Hurricane Isaac, but the amount of time it took Entergy to restore power was not!

Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans on the same exact day of the anniversary of Katrina 7 years ago, but thankfully as a category 1 hurricane unlike Katrina which was a category 3. Isaac had dissipated by Friday, August 31st. Isaac's winds howled for two days and knocked down trees and power lines, but from what the locals told me, it wasn't as bad as Hurricane Gustav in 2008, which was a category 2, and power was restored much faster after Gustav than Isaac. For some reason Entergy could not precisely explain exactly why it took so long to restore power in New Orleans. There was a small percentage of people who did not lose their electricity at all, but 85% of the city was in the dark for days.

Many people were told to call Entergy and report their power outages, but that proved to be completely useless. Businesses could not open, restaurants lost their food supplies and remained closed. People could not get back to their normal lives even though Isaac had come and gone. Some restaurants and grocery stores gassed up their generators and were able to open for business, but there was still no air conditioning and in this hot and humid subtropical weather, a battery operated fan just doesn't cut it. Businesses lost thousands upon thousands of dollars the days spent without electricity. And with the heat and humidity without aircon, many New Orleanians were going a bit crazy. Tensions were high, people were stressed out and desperate because they had been unable to work because of their jobs not having electricity. Some elderly folks even died due to heatstrokes.

Over 500,000 people were without electricity throughout Louisiana and in New Orleans alone there was almost 70,000 without power while Entergy trucks were lined up and down streets throughout the city, not doing a thing. What really infuriated me more was the fact that Entergy workers that were brought in from surrounding states were partying late in the French Quarter, knowing that they had a huge job to do the next day. This whole situation made me think.. Why does Entergy have the monopoly on power here? And why aren't more people looking to utilize solar power here where we get so much sunshine? Especially since Louisiana has the highest consumer incentives for solar in the nation. Solar energy panels are expensive, but with 80% state and federal tax credits, it really pays off in the long run to not depend on an unreliable energy company that leaves it's customers in the dark for so long without a proper explanation. Experiencing hurricanes is a part of life here in the south, but tolerating an unreliable energy company should not be. Do I sound like a Solar Energy salesperson? Probably, but I'm not.

This past April during a small Earth Day festival, I discovered The Alliance for Affordable Energy, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable clean energy in New Orleans. I feel that now more than ever is the perfect time to support and promote their mission in New Orleans.

AAE's statement: "The Alliance for Affordable Energy is a non-profit organization which works to create fair, affordale, environmentally responsible energy policy for Louisiana and the nation. The Alliance also works to promote the sustainable rebuilding of our city, promoting energy efficiency, environmentally responsible building techniques and residential solar power. Since 1985, the Alliance has been working as a watchdog agency to help work toward solutions to our energy problems and ensure that information about these problems is accessible to the public."

::CLICK HERE:: to find out more about Alliance for Affordable Energy.

::CLICK HERE:: to learn more about a New Orleans solar power provider.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rant*