Turning On the Juice in the Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - Creditors of Entergy New Orleans approved a bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to the Associated Press, which cited an attorney for the electricity and natural gas utility.

Parent company Entergy is not covered by the bankruptcy filing.

Entergy New Orleans filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2005, after its grid was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and it was left with few paying customers for months, the wire service noted.

The AP also reported that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Brown approved payments of up to $200 million in federal storm recovery funds and at least $50 million in insurance payments from AIG. The wire service added that immediate storm-relief payments will total some $171 million.

According to the report, Entergy New Orleans expects to spend $465 million to rebuild its natural gas system to pre-Katrina standards.