Together New Orleans with New Orleans City Council Members and the Alliance for Affordable Energy pose after a Sept. 23, 2026 vote to advance a backup battery incentive program [Photo credit: New Orleans City Council]

[Excerpts]

The New Orleans City Council has cleared the way for a new backup battery program that advocates say will help keep the lights on at homes, businesses and community sites when the grid goes down.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the council approved a draft of rules and incentives for the $26.6 million program, which will create a new battery network or "virtual power plant," that will be funded with proceeds from a settlement with Entergy New Orleans over allegations that its parent company mismanaged the Grand Gulf nuclear plant.

The council's action directs Entergy to draw up an implementation plan by the end of October and propose a date to start rolling out the program by the end of March 2027.

Approval of the program is a victory for the nonprofit advocacy groups Together New Orleans and the Alliance for Affordable Energy, who first proposed using the [Entergy] settlement cash for a virtual power plant in 2024.

"What is going on in this city is rippling across the nation and across the world,"

said Rev. Jeff Connor, a member of Together New Orleans. "It is a drop in the bucket, but it is a very significant drop in the bucket."

When paired with solar panels, the battery systems could keep the lights on indefinitely during an outage, as long as the owners go easy on heavy loads like air conditioning. Without solar panels, a single battery can power a house for six to 12 hours depending on usage.

The battery subsidies, to be split evenly between residential and commercial customers, are expected to be sufficient for about 250 businesses, 400 low-income households and 800 other residential customers.

When federal tax credits are included, the upfront incentive would cover 98% of the cost of the installation of an $18,500 single battery for lower-income households and more than 75% of installation costs for wealthier ratepayers.

$26.6M in Backup Battery Subsidies Approved by City Council, will use Entergy Settlements Cash, The Times-Picayune [pdf]

Virtual Power Plant Advances, Makes Backup Batteries Effectively Free for Lower-Income Homes, The Times-Picayune [pdf]

TNO Wins $30M to Create the Largest Community-Based Virtual Power Plant in the Deep South, West/Southwest IAF