Entergy takes tongue lashing from hot N.O. customers

The widespread power outages caused by Isaac have nearly all been repaired, but there are plenty of people in the New Orleans area who say their electricity was not restored fast enough. The Public Service Commission says nearly 41,000 homes and businesses remained without electricity as of this morning; that’s about 2% of customers. The largest remaining outages were in the two parishes hardest hit by Isaac’s flooding: Plaquemines and St. John the Baptist. At its worst, Isaac knocked out power to more than 900,000 utility customers, approaching half the state. As The Times-Picayune reports, the public’s anger at Entergy for lengthy power outages following Isaac has reached a boiling point. “What burns my ass is there’s no reason in the world it should have to be like this,” says Melvin Odenwald, whose Algiers Point house was well above 100 degrees on Monday—after six days without power. Read the full story here. At least one class action lawsuit has been filed against Entergy on behalf of angry customers, and you can check it out here. Meanwhile, the New Orleans City Council has called a hearing this morning to hammer Entergy’s officials about the recovery. Read that story here.