A proposal to allow industrial facilities to build private power plants and grids that could compete with utilities appears to have stalled in the Louisiana Senate, despite gaining late support from earlier opponents, reports New Orleans City Business.
Senate Bill 490, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, would allow large-scale power users to build their own private electricity networks and sell up to 50% of power they generate without being regulated as a utility.
The bill awaits a Senate floor vote Hensgens has delayed for weeks. Even if it were approved, time is running out in the legislative session for the measure to advance through the House of Representatives. Lawmakers must finish their work and adjourn by June 1.
Hensgens declined multiple in-person requests for comment on why he hasn’t moved the bill.
The state’s largest utilities, Entergy and Cleco, oppose the measure. Read more from New Orleans City Business.
