I've been covering local utility regulation since 1980, and I've never been shy about criticizing Entergy New Orleans and its affiliates. Entergy has served up many reasons for harsh treatment over the years, most recently by paying actors to attend New Orleans City Council hearings in a fake show of support for its proposed power plant in New Orleans East.

I mention that history because recent moves by the City Council put me in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with (but not defending) Entergy. Hear me out.

Entergy's "astroturfing" debacle ranks among the dumbest stunts ever by a publicly regulated company. More than dumb, it was wholly unnecessary — the council was going to approve the proposed plant.

New Orleans East Entergy power plant could be scuttled as council threatens to cancel its approval Entergy's use of paid actors a year ago to boost support for a new power plant it wants to build now threatens to scuttle that proposal entire…

But now the council is on the cusp of doing something even dumber. On Wednesday (Jan. 23), it will meet to consider rescinding the previous council's well-reasoned vote because of political heat over Entergy's PR blunder.

The previous council's 6-1 vote in March 2018 (for a smaller plant than Entergy wanted) followed more than two years of hearings. The hearings had grown contentious, but the record is clear: New Orleans needs a local source of electrical power, particularly during peak demand times on hot summer days and after extreme weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

PQ Until recently, this City Council looked like one of the best in memory. Now it seems to be off the rails. Why?

When The Lens broke the astroturfing story, things quickly spun out of control for the utility. CEO Charles Rice stepped down. The council moved to fine Entergy $5 million, a hit its stockholders must absorb. The council now controls the fate of Entergy's latest rate case, which is the biggest stick of all to hold over a utility's head.

The council has plenty of leverage over Entergy right now, leverage it can use to solve not only the utility's (and the city's) problem of frequent power outages but also part of the Sewerage & Water Board's infrastructure challenges. Rescinding the previous council's approval of the power plant goes too far — and squanders this opportunity for a larger resolution.

Until recently, this City Council looked like one of the best in memory. Now it seems to be off the rails. Why?

In a word, politics. Entergy remains a convenient foil for saber rattlers, but the council must resist the temptation to beat up the utility when the punishment will fall even harder on its constituents. We already have to endure too many blackouts. Those blackouts will only become longer and more frequent without clear-headed regulation — and reliable local power.

Opponents of the plant blame the blackouts on Entergy's poor distribution system, and in many cases they are right. But the overarching issue here is reliability, which has two components: distribution and generation.

Even if Entergy had a perfect distribution system, without a local source of significant power generation as well, New Orleanians would still face blackouts during hot summer months (and after hurricanes) when demand for electricity exceeds availability.

I share people's anger at Entergy, but if you think boil water alerts are a problem, just wait till we have to endure cascading blackouts as well. The council needs to find a way to punish Entergy without putting constituents at risk.