Over 30-thousand Caddo and Bossier Parish SWEPCO customers lost power Saturday because of grid instability, and PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell wants answers. Sean Richardson has more.
Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”
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The House Transportation Committee approves legislation prohibiting the use of hand held cell phones while driving. Jeff Palermo has the story.
Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell wants to know why there was a six-hour unplanned power outage on Saturday, with over 30-thousand SWEPCO customers in Bossier and Caddo parishes. SWEPCO spokesman Michael Corbin says that due to a directive from the Southwest Power Pool, the regional transmission organization. SPP identified grid instability and required SWEPCO to implement emergency outages to prevent widespread damage to power lines and equipment.
Cut 3 (12) “…their homes or businesses.”
SWEPCO began restoring power around 9 p.m. that evening, with approximately 87-hundred customers still without electricity. By the end of the night, all outages were resolved. As of Sunday, SWEPCO confirmed that grid conditions had stabilized and the situation had improved. Corbin says whatever caused this wasn’t a SWEPCO issue and a much larger issue possibly in another state.
Cut 4 (06) “…updates to it.”
SWEPCO expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the sudden outages, noting that the emergency nature did not allow for advance notice to customers. Corbin says there was no advanced warning from SPP, and SWEPCO was ordered to shut down immediately.
Cut 5 (08) “…in the future.”
Campbell is having a press conference with SPP and SWEPCO tomorrow and says he doesn’t want to point fingers, and wants to know why it happened and prevent future incidents like this from happening.
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Governor Landry is ordering state workers back to the office.
Cut 6 (06) “…their other colleagues.”
State employees were sent home to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Landry said remote work was one of the biggest negative effects of the pandemic.
Cut 7 (05) “…are more productive.”
Landry says state workers will be required to return to the office July 1st.
Cut 8 (09) “…back to work.”
Landry is also strongly encouraging employees of agencies that don’t fall within his authority to return to the office by that date.
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For the first time, Saints quarterback Derek Carr is speaking out about his injury to his right shoulder. Carr opened up about his injury while leading a service as a guest pastor at ChurchLV in Las Vegas, saying he has an MRI to prove that he has an injured shoulder.
Cut 9 (05) “…forward with that.”
People are chiming in on social media speculating that Carr is faking the injury in an effort to either get traded or to be released from the Saints. Carr says all that talk is frustrating him.
Cut 10 (09) “…with this nonsense?”
Carr’s comments come as NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport has reported that Carr’s shoulder injury may sideline him for the entire 2025 season. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, however, is not ready to write off Carr’s season just yet, saying that the team is waiting for clarity.
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The House Transportation Committee approved a bill this morning that would prohibit drivers from using a handheld cell phone while driving. Slidell Representative Brian Glorioso says a person behind the wheel that is more focused on his phone than the road is a threat to other motorists.
Cut 11 (06) “…drunk driving”
The Louisiana Legislature has rejected similar proposals to the past, but supporters of a ban on handling your cell phone while driving say the proposed legislation can help reduce auto insurance rates, by reducing crashes.
But Alexandria defense attorney Ed Tarpley doubts this proposed law can reduce auto insurance rates.
Cut 12 (11) “…moving violation.”
Highway safety advocates say a ban on handheld cell phones while driving in Louisiana is really needed. AAA spokesperson Don Redman says the actual talking on a handheld device is not that big of a problem, it’s the texting while driving, the use of social media or streaming video that’s the real distraction.
Cut 13 (14) “…in a crash.”
Tarpley questions how the proposed law would be enforced and he also believes it’s an overreach of government regulation…
Cut 14 (10) “…every day life.”
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The legislature is once again working to give teachers and school staff a permanent pay raise after Amendment 2 failed at the ballot box last month. The House Ways and Means Committee has advanced House Bill 573, which would place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to eliminate three education trust funds and divert two-billion dollars to pay down retirement debt, using the savings towards teacher pay. Larry Carter, the president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, supports it, but he says passage of the amendment would come too late for the 2025-26 school year.
Cut 15 (07) “…amendment ultimately passed.”
Like Amendment 2, the plan would be to transform a two-thousand-dollar stipend for teachers and a one-thousand-dollar stipend for other school staff into permanent pay increases. Carter says don’t confuse that with pay raises.
Cut 16 (10) “…paychecks have not.”
H-B 573 now goes to the House Civil Law Committee.