New Orleans residents were left sweltering in darkness this weekend as the city’s power grid crumbled under pressure, showing exactly what happens when green energy fantasies collide with real-world electricity demands.
At a Glance
- Over 100,000 New Orleans area residents lost power during a holiday weekend heatwave with only 3 minutes notice
- MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) ordered Entergy to cut power as a “last resort” to prevent a larger blackout
- One generator was offline for maintenance and another unexpectedly failed during peak demand
- Officials warn this is just the beginning – NERC has flagged MISO for elevated blackout risks starting in 2025 as reliable coal plants are replaced with unreliable green energy
- City officials were blindsided and are demanding answers about why New Orleans “bore the brunt” of the outages
Three Minutes’ Notice: How MISO Plunged New Orleans Into Darkness
While families were trying to enjoy their holiday weekend, MISO decided to play God with the power grid. With just three minutes’ notice – you read that right, THREE MINUTES – they ordered Entergy to cut power to tens of thousands of customers across New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, and surrounding areas. No time to prepare, no time to warn residents, just flip the switch and let people suffer. Over 100,000 residents suddenly found themselves without electricity during a Louisiana heatwave because someone, somewhere decided New Orleans should pay the price for grid mismanagement.
The official explanation? It was an emergency “load-shed order” – bureaucrat-speak for “we’re cutting your power so the entire grid doesn’t collapse.” Entergy confirmed approximately 52,000 customers in New Orleans proper were impacted, with thousands more in surrounding parishes. The kicker is that New Orleans seems to have shouldered a disproportionate burden of these outages while other areas were largely spared. Coincidence? City officials aren’t buying it.
Officials Blindsided and Demanding Answers
Local leaders are absolutely livid about how this situation was handled – and rightfully so. In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, city officials from across the political spectrum released a scathing joint statement demanding answers about why New Orleans residents were left quite literally in the dark. The timing couldn’t have been worse, disrupting holiday festivities and leaving vulnerable residents to endure sweltering temperatures without air conditioning.
“Tonight, the regional transmission organization, MISO, ordered an immediate, forced, large-scale outage within the Entergy territory, leaving the utility with minimal notice. Customers in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes were affected, with the majority of impacts felt in New Orleans. We are not only frustrated by the lack of timely notification to both the utility and regulators, and it appears that New Orleans bore the brunt of this forced outage. The public deserves clear answers regarding the reasons behind this incident and the failure to provide timely alerts. We are urgently working to uncover the facts as power restoration efforts begin.” – City Council President and Utility Committee Chair JP Morrell, Council Vice President and Climate and Sustainability Chair Helena Moreno, and Public Service Commissioner for District 3 Davante Lewis
The questions being asked are straightforward: Why was there no warning? Why did New Orleans bear the brunt of the outages? And perhaps most importantly – why is our power grid so fragile that a hot day and a couple of generator issues can throw an entire metropolitan area into chaos? The silence from officials at MISO, the Department of Energy, and even the Mayor’s Office is deafening. Not a single one responded to requests for comment – probably too busy preparing their excuses.
The Green Energy Transition Nobody Asked For
Let’s call this what it really is – the predictable result of an ideologically-driven energy transition that prioritizes climate virtue signaling over reliable power. MISO has been systematically reducing dependence on traditional power sources like coal, natural gas, and nuclear while increasing reliance on intermittent sources like wind and solar. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has been waving red flags about this for years, specifically warning that MISO faces elevated blackout risks beginning in 2025 due to capacity shortfalls.
“Entergy New Orleans is currently subject to a load-shed order from MISO; approximately 52,000 customers are impacted. Our crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore service, as soon as we are clear to do so. Estimated time of restoration is unclear at this time, pending further updates from MISO.” – Entergy
The irony couldn’t be more stark: Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently had to order MISO to keep the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant operational specifically to prevent capacity shortages. Yet the green energy zealots continue pushing policies that shut down reliable baseload power plants without adequate replacements. This weekend’s blackout wasn’t an anomaly – it’s a preview of our energy future if we continue down this path. When your air conditioner stops working during the next heatwave, remember to thank the climate activists who assured you this transition would be seamless.
