Entergy Louisiana is reconsidering a proposal to build a new transmission line along Louisiana 23 in Plaquemines Parish after residents and officials complained the new 60-foot tall poles would be an infringement and potential hazard. Entergy wants to construct a 230-kilovolt transmission line from its Peters Road substation to a substation in Alliance about 25 miles to the south....
Entergy Louisiana is reconsidering a proposal to build a new transmission line along Louisiana 23 in Plaquemines Parish after residents and officials complained the new 60-foot tall poles would be an infringement and potential hazard. Entergy wants to construct a 230-kilovolt transmission line from its Peters Road substation to a substation in Alliance about 25 miles to the south. The 60-foot metal poles would run along Louisiana 23 and provide additional capacity and redundancy for the existing 115-kilovolt line, said Molly Jahncke, a spokeswoman for Entergy.
However the proposed route, which would require servitudes along the highway of 30 to 100 feet, has angered residents and the Plaquemines Parish Council who have criticized the project as overly intrusive. The council voted to oppose the plan July 14 after Entergy presented its proposal, and a public hearing Aug. 9 brought many angry comments from residents.
Councilman Burghart Turner told the company to find an alternative. Turner said the company should use the same route as the existing transmission line, which runs through wetlands that are west of Louisiana 23. Entergy hasn't provided a compelling reason for why it can't use that route, he said.
"It's an unnecessary intrusion on property owners," Turner said. "We're hoping that the opposition will cause them to reconsider."
Jahncke said the company listened to the concerns of the council and residents and has conducted more analysis on the routes. She said Entergy would follow up with the Louisiana Public Service Commission on Friday, and then with Plaquemines officials and residents at a later date.
Entergy is now considering three different options, she said.
"When we have a better idea what we're looking at from those alternate routes, we're going to come back and talk to the community as a whole," Jahncke said. "We have not made a decision."
Under the original estimates, it would have cost Entergy about $120 million to build the line through the wetlands compared to about $40 million along Louisiana 23, she said. That increased cost gets passed along to ratepayers throughout the system, not just in Plaquemines Parish, Jahncke said. In addition, any plan that would result in rate hikes must be reviewed by the public service commission to be certain that residents are not being charged capriciously.
But, Jahncke said that just standing pat for Entergy is not an option because it must comply with new federal standards. The Louisiana 23 route is not only cheaper to build than a line in the wetlands, but it would make it easier for the utility to repair lines after a disaster, or make future improvements. She said the transmission is the culmination of a three-year project.
"We do have to make a decision. We're not going to let this linger and linger," Jahncke said.
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Allen Powell II can be reached at apowell@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3793.