NEW ORLEANS - Feb 24 - By ALAN SAYRE

 

About 95 percent of Entergy New Orleans' pre-Hurricane Katrina customers are able to receive electricity, but just over a third of that number is now hooked up, the company said Friday.

Six months after Katrina blew away the utility system along with much of the rest of New Orleans, restoration of natural gas service - also handled by Entergy in New Orleans - has been completed to about 86 percent of the pre-storm customer base, Entergy New Orleans chief executive Dan Packer said.

Currently, 70,000 power customers and 47,000 gas customers are receiving service. Before Katrina, the unit of Entergy Corp. that serves New Orleans had 190,000 power customers and 145,000 gas customers.

With restoration efforts proceeding, the company is now turning its attention to paying for damage to its power and gas systems - estimated in the range of $260 million to $400 million. The damage, along with the cutoff of revenue from providing service, sent Entergy New Orleans into federal bankruptcy reorganization last fall.

Packer said Entergy New Orleans was preparing its application for federal relief funds that will be distributed through community block grant applications. Congress has made $10.2 billion available for the state to distribute.

The company has yet to determine how much will be applied for, but Packer said it would fall within the damage estimate range. He would not speculate when the application would be filed with the governor's office.

Packer said that without federal help, Entergy New Orleans would have to totally rely on rate hikes to pay for the damage - a scenario he said could easily double existing rates while discouraging residents and businesses from returning to the city.

Entergy New Orleans "cannot be sustained by rate increases on the customers of New Orleans," he said during a news conference.

However, Packer said it was possible that Entergy New Orleans would ask for some sort of a rate increase - even if federal money covers its damages - to create a storm-damage reserve fund and perhaps for other items to be determined. He would not speculate on the size of the increase.

Unlike the other Entergy units in Louisiana - Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, which are regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission - any rate hikes would have to be approved by the New Orleans City Council, which retained jurisdiction after it sold the once-city-owned system.

Packer also said that 43,600 of the city's street lights are operating and he expected virtually all to be on line by the end of March. All traffic signal lights now have available power, though replacing damaged signals rests with the city and state highway officials, he said.