New Orleans Council Unanimously Approves $30M Neighborhood Power Plan
Historic investment creates largest Virtual Power Plant in the Deep South — with no rate increase
Together New Orleans leaders celebrate after Council advances the resolution on Dec 16, 2025.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – December 18, 2025 – With a unanimous vote today, the New Orleans City Council gave final approval to the Neighborhood Power Plan — a $30 million proposal by Together New Orleans and the Alliance for Affordable Energy to strengthen the local power grid with thousands of batteries at homes, community facilities and businesses.
Funded with Entergy settlement dollars, the plan will not increase utility rates.
Over the next three years, the Neighborhood Power Plan positions New Orleans to build one of the most robust distributed energy resource programs — often called a virtual power plant — in the country on a per capita basis. The program is designed to improve reliability, reduce outages and lower costs while strengthening neighborhood back-up power during extreme weather and other grid disruptions.
“The way this program came about is remarkable,” said VPP expert Arushi Sharma Frank, who consulted with Together New Orleans as an architect of the proposal. “This entire docket was initiated by community organizations who led the analysis and the most important filings alongside subject matter experts from around the country. It’s a rare example of communities originating and guiding a major utility reform that is open access and effectively a public good.”
What the Council passed
The Neighborhood Power Plan will install backup batteries tied to solar panels at about 1,500 homes and 150-250 community institutions across the city, creating the largest Virtual Power Plant in the Deep South.
The resolution directs the City to launch a three-year Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Program that includes:
$28M in upfront incentives for installing solar + battery systems
$2M for program administration and implementation
40% of residential incentives reserved for low-to-moderate income households
Equal investment in homes and community institutions
Performance payments for households and institutions that dispatch power to support the grid
These battery systems will:
Provide life-saving backup power for medically vulnerable residents and seniors
Support resilience hubs at congregations, clinics, and neighborhood institutions
Stabilize the grid by reducing peak demand and supporting faster recovery after storms and heat emergencies
The plan delivers immediate public safety benefits — and does so without raising rates.
A Plan Built by Community
The Neighborhood Power Plan is the result of years of organizing, led by Together New Orleans and the Alliance for Affordable Energy in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Community members with Together New Orleans, including leaders from churches, unions and civic institutions around the city, advocated to ensure the infrastructure would be funded entirely through Entergy settlement dollars, with no cost passed on to residents.
Over 100 leaders with Together New Orleans erupted in applause on Tuesday as the Council advanced the resolution to the final stage. “Today’s outcome proves that when residents organize around real solutions, City government can deliver,” said Sonya Norsworthy, Board President of Together New Orleans.
What happens next
Entergy New Orleans, the City Council, program advisors, and the third-party administrator will now begin developing the implementation plan. Installations will begin rolling out across neighborhoods in 2026.
“This is a historic step toward protecting lives in New Orleans,” said Nathalie Jordi of Together New Orleans. “Instead of waiting for the grid to fail again, the City is building neighborhood-level power that keeps people safe when it matters most.”
See news coverage
>> City advances 'transformative' $28M battery initiative to cut outages and power bills - Times-Picayune (PDF)
>> Council set to green light $30 million power resiliency plan - Verite News (PDF)
Together New Orleans is a broad-based coalition of congregations, unions, and civic institutions working to build practical solutions to New Orleans’ most pressing challenges. TNO created the Community Lighthouse Project, a nationally recognized network of solar-powered community resilience hubs.
MEDIA CONTACT: Liana Heath, (413)351-5203, liana@togetherla.org
