NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / May 13, 2025 / Entergy Corporation:
By: Nicole Bradshaw, Manager, Digital and Social Media
Company plans to invest $37 billion in the electric grid through 2028
May 12-16 marks National Infrastructure Week, but for Entergy employees, it seems like the observance is celebrated daily.
Throughout the company's service area, a dizzying number of projects are being planned, designed, approved, built and put into service. These projects will improve resiliency, enhance reliability, supply economic growth and meet increased residential demand for Entergy's 3 million customers.
Interested in how the company is investing in serving customers better, both now and for the future? Below are just a few of the many initiatives active right now.
Entergy Louisiana is investing more than $400 million over the next four years to upgrade approximately 730 miles of distribution and transmission lines across the state's Capital Region. As part of the project, approximately 20,300 poles will be upgraded to withstand winds of up to 150 mph, helping to ensure the continuity of service in the face of increasingly severe weather events.
The initiative will directly benefit the Capital Region's vital industries, as well as small businesses, schools, hospitals and residential customers that rely on affordable and reliable power. With more than $30 billion in industrial projects currently evaluating investment in the region, enhanced grid reliability is a critical factor in supporting continued economic growth.
Entergy Texas is roughly 70% complete with construction of the Orange County Advanced Power Station. The plant, designed to generate 1,215 megawatts of power, remains on track to power more than 230,000 homes by June 2026.
Bringing this massive project to life requires an impressive inventory of materials:
Over 1.3 million feet of electrical cables
More than 43,000 feet of underground piping
Nearly 2,000 tons of steel
Over 22,000 cubic yards of concrete
Entergy Texas expects energy demand across residential, commercial and industrial customer bases to increase over the next few years. This growth in energy consumption requires the Entergy Texas power grid to have an additional 1,600 megawatts of generation capacity by 2028, which is approximately 40% of current generation capacity. Learn more about how the company is readying for that growth with its STEP Ahead plan.
Entergy New Orleans has announced a $100 million Accelerated Resilience Plan, approved by the New Orleans City Council in October 2024. The plan reflects a commitment to strengthening the grid and creating jobs while driving long-term growth.
The first phase of work, to be completed in 2025-2026, will include 65 individual projects, strengthening 3,096 structures and upgrading 63 electric line miles.
Company employees are already working closely with local partners to help transform the city's economic landscape in other positive ways:
The River District Neighborhood Initiative will feature a mixed-use neighborhood with sustainable designs, green spaces, and advanced infrastructure. This project is expected to generate over $1 billion in economic activity and $43 million in annual tax revenue.
Five O' Four Golf, a $40 million golf-entertainment facility, will include a driving range, dining options, and other amenities, bringing jobs, tourism, and entertainment to the region.
CSX's property in New Orleans East, the first site in the city to be classified as a "Certified Site" under the Louisiana Economic Development's Certified Sites Program, will benefit residents by creating jobs, improving infrastructure, and enhancing logistics and transportation services.
Entergy Arkansas continues its plans to invest millions of dollars into grid upgrades and one example is the recently completed significant reliability upgrades in the Harrisburg community aimed at modernizing aging infrastructure, increasing resilience and reducing the risk of power interruptions. The year-long project, which includes more than two miles of new distribution lines and enhancing substation equipment, is expected to bring improved stability to the area, providing farmers and residents with the reliable power needed to operate essential irrigation systems during the hot summer months.
These upgrades represent a proactive investment in the community's future, helping farmers, residents and local businesses thrive with expanded electrical stability. In total for this project, Entergy Arkansas has invested more than $12 million in new upgrades and has rebuilt more than a mile of existing distribution lines allowing the company to support increased load demands and provide consistent power delivery, even during high-demand periods.
At Entergy Mississippi, construction is underway at the Delta Blues Advanced Power Station in Greenville. By replacing end-of-life gas generation with more clean and efficient generation, the company is ensuring customers continue to have modern, reliable energy well into the future.
Delta Blues Advanced Power Station will be a 754-megawatt facility capable of powering 385,000 homes across Entergy Mississippi's 45-county service area.
The $1.2 billion investment represents a significant economic impact for the Mississippi Delta, including more than 300 construction jobs in the area over the next several years and additional tax revenue for Washington County. Entergy will employ about 21 full-time personnel to operate the plant when it comes online. When fully operational, the plant will provide the state a newer, cleaner and more attractive power source to highlight when recruiting new industry and jobs to Mississippi.
The Entergy Nuclear River Bend Station in St. Francisville, La., has recently modernized the local emergency notification process, transitioning to a nationally approved system that continues to alert local broadcast and news outlets about severe weather, while putting information directly in the hands of residents.
Similar to how people now get storm warnings through their electronic and mobile devices, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System is now set to give local residents more information in a timelier manner should an emergency occur.
IPAWS works by sending local emergency messages to the public to customer's mobile phones using wireless emergency alerts, to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System and also on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's, or NOAA, weather radio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency developed IPAWS over a decade ago is currently being used by major nuclear plants across the nation.
Numerous yellow cranes and massive industrial-style structures in Orange, Texas -a sign of progress on Entergy Texas' Orange County Advanced Power Station
