FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/27/09
Landrieu, Melancon Announce more than $45.5M for Energy Grid Updates in La.
Awards were provided through the Recovery Act.
WASHINGTON — United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and Rep. Charlie Melancon, La.-03, today announced over $45.5 million for energy grid updates in Louisiana. Today's release of $3.4 billion nationwide is the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history, which will fund a broad range of technologies that will spur Louisiana's transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system.
The awards announced today represent the largest group of Recovery Act awards ever made in a single day and the largest batch of Recovery Act clean energy grant awards to-date. Both Senator Landrieu and Rep. Melancon voted for the Recovery Act to improve the state's infrastructure and create thousands of new jobs in Louisiana.
"Modernizing our energy grid will benefit our state on multiple fronts," said Senator Landrieu. "In Louisiana, these grants will fund projects to reduce energy use and lower electricity costs to families, while creating new, high-paying jobs and improving the efficiency of our energy grid. Learning to consume our energy wisely will also help our nation to address our overreliance on foreign oil and to combat global climate change, a looming threat to low-lying coastal lands in Louisiana."
"Upgrading Louisiana's energy grid will lower costs for consumers and create new jobs in our state," Rep. Melancon said. "These investments in our infrastructure will also save energy, reducing pollution in the air we breathe and the water we drink."
Louisiana received more than $45.5 million to fund five projects throughout the state.
* $20 million for Cleco Power LLC in Pineville to install a smart metering network for all of the utility's customers to enable customer interaction and distribution automation.
* $11.6 million for Lafayette Consolidated Government to install more than 57,000 smart meters to enable consumers to reduce energy use and automate the electric transmission and distribution systems to improve monitoring and reliability.
* $5 million to Entergy New Orleans to install more than 11,000 residential smart meters and in-home display devices, to reduce energy use and cost for low-income families.
* $4.6 million to Entergy Services in New Orleans to build a foundation for increased grid monitoring, install 18 phasor measurement units and train grid operators and engineers on phasor technology.
* $4.3 million for the City of Ruston to develop a Smart Grid to reduce energy use and limit system losses.