"Our resolution today is the largest single penalty ever imposed by the City Council. We do not take this action lightly."

NEW ORLEANS - Today, the New Orleans City Council held a special meeting to hear from the independent investigators into the Entergy New Orleans (ENO) paid actors scandal, consider sanctions for the same, and initiate a prudence investigation of ENO's past operation of the city's electricity distribution system.

"Due to ENO and their contractors' actions, the people of New Orleans have been mistreated and betrayed. They have been lied to and marginalized, and I intend, alongside my colleagues, to proceed with sanctions for ENO's missteps. Our resolution today is the largest single penalty ever imposed by the City Council. We do not take this action lightly. Conduct of the type we saw during the New Orleans Power Station (NOPS) process will not be tolerated by this Council nor by the people of New Orleans. Today, we act to ensure this never happens again," said Council Utilities Committee Chair Helena Moreno.

Independent Investigators Matt Coman and Judge Calvin Johnson (Ret.) presented the findings from their report detailing ENO's actions during the public comment period in the NOPS process over the past year. The investigators' report revealed that ENO "knew or should have known" that individuals were paid to pose as citizens supporting the NOPS plant at public hearings.

As a result, Utilities Chair Moreno and Council President Jason Williams brought forth a sanctions resolution containing a historic $5 million fine for ENO along with other required corrective procedures. The company and the public now have 30 days to comment on the penalties.

Additionally, the long-running inquiry begun by the previous Council into repeated daylight power outages and ENO's general operation of their distribution system has culminated in a "Prudence Investigation," a proceeding to determine whether the Utility failed to properly maintain their distribution system. This proceeding, once completed, could also result in fines and penalties for the company.

"We want to know why and how ENO allowed their distribution system to decay and fall into disrepair to the detriment of ratepayers. This new prudence investigation will consider ENO's past efforts to remediate the electric service disruptions and to determine if financial or other penalties should be imposed by the Council due to failures on ENO's part," said Chair Moreno.