Nagin to residents: Help Entergy get federal money
Tags: ray naginFrom 6 months for power, Nagin says:
Saying it might be six months before power is restored to all of eastern New Orleans, Mayor Ray Nagin urged a spillover audience of mostly displaced eastern New Orleans residents in Baton Rouge to join Entergy Corp.'s fight to get federal money to rebuild the severely damaged utilities system.
Entergy New Orleans, which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, already has spent about $400 million restoring infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Katrina, and the company needs about another $450 million to complete the task, Nagin said.
President Bush's $17 billion hurricane recovery proposal includes no money for Entergy's devastated utility infrastructure. Entergy executives have said a federal bailout is essential. Without one, Entergy will be forced to raise rates dramatically, a move some fear could stifle the city's economic recovery. And if the utility can't emerge from bankruptcy, the city might be forced to municipalize the service.
Nagin said he intends to ask members of Congress to help Entergy. There is a precedent for such action. Congress awarded $250 million in grants to Consolidated Edison, the New York utility that sustained damage in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He urged the New Orleans exiles at True Light Baptist Church in Baton Rouge to write or call their congressional representatives…
