Sam Karlin

2 weeks ago | nola.com | Sam Karlin

The Times-Picayune is reporting on the effects of extreme heat on residents of New Orleans. As part of this effort, we are gathering information about how heat affects people: What type of air conditioning people have, how high their utility bills are and whether their house stays cool. This data will help us illustrate whether worsening heat waves are weighing on residents, as well as which solutions can help alleviate the stress.

3 weeks ago | nola.com | Sam Karlin

A longstanding lack of long-range transmission lines in south Louisiana, which limits the amount of power that can be moved in from other areas, contributed to an “extremely rare” problem with the region's electric grid and led to the forced power outages over the Memorial Day weekend in the New Orleans area, officials said Tuesday.

4 weeks ago | nola.com | Sam Karlin

Louisiana’s electric grid was missing a huge amount of power last weekend because of unplanned outages at power plants, contributing to the grid operator’s decision to order forced blackouts to avoid a “catastrophic” blackout similar to a recent crisis in Spain and Portugal, according to an internal memo.

1 month ago | nola.com | Sam Karlin

Elected officials homed in Tuesday on the timeline of events that led to an abrupt order of forced blackouts on Sunday in Louisiana, prompting Entergy and Cleco to cut the lights to 100,000 residents in the New Orleans area amid hot late-spring temperatures. Regulators had previously pinned the outages, in part, on the unexpected shutdown of River Bend, a nuclear plant north of Baton Rouge. But Entergy and federal officials said Tuesday that River Bend was shut down because of a leak on May 21.

1 month ago | theadvocate.com | Sam Karlin

While Louisiana lawmakers have struggled to rein in rising home insurance premiums, one solution can both lower costs and make homes more resistant to hurricane damage: fortified roofs. Now, lawmakers appear poised to pass some bills that are expected to accelerate the pace at which stronger roofs are put on homes. A plan to give homeowners a $10,000 tax credit if they pay for a fortified roof has gained momentum this legislative session, which ends June 12.