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Politicians fighting for stronger power grid

2 years 6 months 3 weeks ago Monday, September 06 2021 Sep 6, 2021 September 06, 2021 6:48 PM September 06, 2021 in News
Source: WBRZ

Parts of Tara and West Fairway off of Old Hammond Highway have been without power since 8 pm last Sunday.

"The first few days were pretty rough," said West Fairway resident Edward Geier. "We didn't have a generator. We didn't have air. Thankfully, some friends and family came through and brought us a generator, and as time went by, we got a few window units, we got 'em plugged in. The biggest problem is finding gas."

Geier and his family decided to stick it out with a generator, going on a week and a day, and it could be four more days.

"It's disappointing, but I understand. I mean, we had a really big tree take out the transmission lines a street over, so the crews have been there working on it."

Many like Geier are wondering what can be done to prevent such catastrophic damage to the power grid for the next storm.

"I'm not sure what they could do differently other than bury lines. If you bury lines, you don't have trees hitting them."

That's where politicians are stepping in. Local orthopedic surgeon and public service commissioner Craig Greene has asked President Biden himself for help.

"The president has the ability through an infrastructure package or disaster relief to allocate money," said Greene.

Greene believes the grid needs to be revamped and made stronger.

"I'm asking him for money to make the grid more resilient in some cases that would be updated and buried power lines."

Senator Bill Cassidy, Congressman Garret Graves, and Governor John Bel Edwards have also mentioned burying powerlines.

The easiest way to get that going, Greene says, is to pass the President's infrastructure bill.

Until that happens, Geier, like many others, is taking things into his own hands.

"Personally, I'm probably going to invest in a home generator. That way, when this happens, we'll be good to go."

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