Council presses Energy on street-light and outage protections during discussion of 30-year franchise

Council members on May 28 discussed a proposed 30-year franchise agreement (agenda item A1) that would authorize the parish president to execute a franchise with Energy for the right to supply, construct, and maintain electric infrastructure in Plaquemines Parish.

Councilman Champagne led the charge for clearer, enforceable contract language about street lighting and outage coordination. "If we're going to sign a 30-year contract, this can outlive me," he said, arguing the agreement should explicitly require maintenance of street lights and a formal approval process for controlled outages. Champagne raised concerns about planned outages scheduled for early morning hours and the effect on residents who rely on medical devices.

Administration said it is preparing a full contract rather than relying on broad ordinance language and will include more granular terms. A staff member told the council that Energy had initially proposed relying on ordinance language, but the parish insisted on a detailed agreement so the parish could hold the provider accountable. The administration promised to solicit council input at follow-up meetings in Port Sulphur and Belchase.

Other council members raised related practical questions: whether Energy would subcontract street-light maintenance, who residents should call for outages, and whether parish residents could sell power back to the utility in future years as distributed generation grows. Miss McCarti asked that a buy-back provision for parish-produced power be considered "because within 30 years we know that's going to happen." Administration said it would seek those clarifications.

Outcome: the ordinance was taken up for "discussion only"; council did not vote and asked staff to continue negotiating contract language and to convene additional meetings with Energy and council members.

Next steps: administration will circulate revised contract language and schedule follow-up meetings so council members can review draft terms addressing lights, outage coordination, notification procedures and subcontracting responsibilities.