In this episode of Grid Talk host Marty Rosenberg talks with Leo Denault who is the Chairman and CEO of Entergy Corporation. Entergy delivers electricity to three million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

The podcast focuses on the electric grid devastation caused by Hurricane Ida and re-evaluating grid assets used to power customers. The utility and policymakers must consider whether it is time to pick up the pace of transmission and distribution line upgrades, according to Denault.

When Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana two months ago its 150 mph winds caused prolonged electric power failures. 

“The new infrastructure is proving to be robust against even the storms that we’re seeing today,” Denault said, “but what we do need to determine is whether or not the cost-benefit relationship has changed.” 

“Maybe that cost-benefit relationship has changed, and we need to come to some agreement with our stakeholders about if that’s changed, how aggressive should we be in changing out millions of poles.”

He continued: “What we plan to do is look at the potential options for added resilience to the system, the cost of those different options, and then come to an agreement on the cost-benefit discussion about should we look at poles that, to traditional standards, would be considered perfectly fine and take them down and put-up new ones?” 

Transformation has already been underway. “We’ve spent nearly $10 billion over the last five years on new transmission and distribution infrastructure. Our Class 1 poles on the distribution side, they can withstand 150 mile-an-hour winds, and our new transmission structures are designed to withstand 150 mile-an-hour winds. In both Hurricane Laura and in Hurricane Ida those new technologies and those new structures withstand those storms quite well.”

Leo Denault joined Entergy in 1999 as vice president of corporate development, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer five years later. He was named CEO and Chairman in 2013.

Prior to joining Entergy, Mr. Denault served as vice president of corporate development at Cinergy Corporation, where he helped acquire generation, distribution, and trading businesses.

He has an MBA from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting from Ball State University.