In short: New Orleans is the one place in Louisiana where rooftop solar still gets monthly net metering, because Entergy New Orleans answers to the City Council. Homes there paid about 13¢ per kWh in 2024 and lost about 586 minutes of power. Across the lake and in Jefferson Parish, state rules credit exports at about 2.6¢.
This page covers New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner and the Northshore. For statewide rules, contractor licensing and Louisiana’s averages, see our Louisiana energy guide.
New Orleans at a glance
- Entergy New Orleans (Orleans Parish, including Algiers): about 13.0¢ per kWh for homes (2024 average). Outages in 2024: 180 minutes per customer on normal days, 586 minutes counting major storms (EIA-861).
- Entergy Louisiana (Jefferson Parish: Metairie, Kenner; parts of St. Tammany): about 11.1¢ per kWh; 213 minutes out on normal days, 610 with major events (company-wide, 2024).
- Northshore: EIA also lists Cleco Power (about 12.3¢) and Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative (about 11.9¢; 1,508 outage minutes with major events in 2024) in St. Tammany Parish. Check your bill.
- Sun: 4.74 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020), about 1,380 kWh a year per kW of panels by our rough estimate.
- Top hazards: hurricanes and lightning rated “very high” in Orleans Parish; Jefferson Parish adds “very high” coastal flooding; St. Tammany’s top rating is hurricanes (FEMA National Risk Index).
- Public charging: 126 public ports in New Orleans, 44 in Metairie, 29 in Covington, 27 in Slidell and 8 in Mandeville (AFDC, October 3, 2026).
Your utility and what it means
Entergy New Orleans. Under the City Council’s net metering rule, the kWh your panels send to the grid offset the kWh you buy that month. If you export more than you use, you pay the minimum bill and the surplus carries to the next month as a credit. Leftover credit is paid at the lower avoided-cost rate only when you close your account. Home systems can be up to 25 kW, there is a one-time $50 meter charge, and the system needs an outdoor, labeled disconnect that Entergy can reach at any time. One local exception: net metering is not allowed in the Downtown Network Area, roughly bounded by the Expressway, Claiborne Avenue, Esplanade Avenue and the river. Read the details on Entergy New Orleans’ net metering page.
Net metering has caught on here: EIA counted 9,832 net-metered home solar systems at Entergy New Orleans in 2024, about 5% of its residential customers, against about 1.5% at Entergy Louisiana. The Council’s Energy Smart program offers Entergy New Orleans households a free home energy assessment, a sensible first step.
Entergy Louisiana (Metairie, Kenner and the rest of Jefferson Parish). Here the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s rules apply. Solar you use as it is produced saves the full retail price; exports earn the avoided-cost rate, $0.0259 per kWh from April 1, 2025. Systems installed by the end of 2019 keep retail net metering until December 31, 2034. See Entergy Louisiana’s net metering page.
Cleco and Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative (Northshore). Both fall under the same state rules for systems connected since 2020, but each sets its own export rate and paperwork. We could not confirm their current figures, so ask for the export rate in writing before you sign.
Backup power in New Orleans
Recent events show the range. Hurricane Francine came ashore in Terrebonne Parish on September 11, 2024; the next morning Entergy reported 51,620 customers out in New Orleans alone, and it restored 90% of affected customers across its area within three days. Then on May 25, 2025, with several power plants offline, the regional grid operator MISO ordered Entergy Louisiana, Entergy New Orleans and Cleco to cut about 600 megawatts of load, including 100 megawatts on the Northshore; conditions recovered within about three and a half hours. In January 2025, more than 8 inches of snow fell on Greater New Orleans, a record, though Entergy reported only about 2,400 peak outages at Entergy New Orleans.
- Short outages and grid emergencies: a portable power station or a home battery covers fans, the fridge, a CPAP, phones and lights for hours, silently.
- Hurricane outages lasting days: a natural-gas standby generator, or a portable unit with a transfer switch. In flood-prone areas, raise the unit above expected water and follow the clearances on the manufacturer’s sheet.
- Size it first: use the generator sizing tool and the battery backup calculator; read backup power options and generator installation.
Since January 2023, Louisiana’s construction code requires carbon monoxide alarms in every bedroom and the living area when a standby generator is installed outside, as Jefferson Parish’s permit page explains. Run portable generators outdoors only, far from doors and windows, and never in a garage, under a raised house or on a porch.
Solar in New Orleans
Each kW of panels makes about 1,380 kWh a year here by our estimate. In Orleans Parish, monthly netting means most of that offsets power at Entergy New Orleans’ price: roughly $180 per kW a year at the 2024 average of 13¢. In Metairie or Kenner on Entergy Louisiana, the same kW is worth about $150 if you use every kWh yourself, but only about $36 if you export it all at 2.6¢. These are estimates, not promises.
So the parish line changes the right system size. In New Orleans, sizing toward your yearly use makes sense, as long as you live outside the Downtown Network Area. In Jefferson Parish and the Northshore, size to your daytime use or add a battery. Racking must handle hurricane winds, and the federal 25D credit ended for systems completed after 2025. Try the solar potential calculator, then read solar costs and solar installation.
Home batteries in New Orleans
In Orleans Parish, net metering already values exports well, so a battery is mainly for backup: riding through a load-shed afternoon or the first days after a storm. On Entergy Louisiana, a battery also earns its keep by storing midday solar you would otherwise export for 2.6¢. Either way, grid-tied solar alone shuts off in an outage; you need a battery with backup capability. For multi-day hurricane outages, a battery plus a generator is the realistic plan. See battery installation and home battery cost.
EV charging in New Orleans
New Orleans has 126 public ports, including 30 free Level 2 chargers at 25 city sites that Entergy New Orleans installed with the City. At home, using about 30 kWh per 100 miles, charging costs about $3.90 per 100 miles at Entergy New Orleans’ 2024 average, or about $3.30 on Entergy Louisiana (estimates). Entergy’s eTech program lists a $250 incentive for an ENERGY STAR Level 2 home charger; check the eTech page for current terms. A Level 2 charger needs a 240-volt circuit and a permit: see EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in New Orleans: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
- City of New Orleans: the Department of Safety and Permits treats rooftop solar as an electrical permit ($40 plus $3 per new circuit plus 30¢ per service amp). Since March 1, 2025, new solar permits through the One Stop App need an approved SolarAPP+ plan review, and only an electrical contractor with a City of New Orleans Class “A” license can pull them. See the city’s solar permitting page and electrical permit page. In a historic district, ask the Historic District Landmarks Commission before you buy.
- Jefferson Parish (Metairie and unincorporated areas): every residential generator permit gets a pre-inspection of the proposed spot; you supply a survey, a site plan with setbacks, a site selection form and the manufacturer’s instructions. See Generator Permits.
- St. Tammany Parish: Permits and Inspections handles unincorporated areas.
- Kenner, Slidell, Mandeville and Covington: ask your city’s permit office first.
Use a licensed electrical contractor (state license lookup on the Louisiana page); they pull the permit, arrange inspections and file the utility’s interconnection application. In HOA neighborhoods, check design rules for roof panels and generator placement before you sign.
Cities we cover
- New Orleans
- Metairie
- Kenner
- Slidell
- Covington
- Mandeville
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New Orleans energy FAQ
Does New Orleans still have net metering?
Yes, for Entergy New Orleans customers. The City Council’s rule nets your exports against what you buy each month and carries any surplus forward as a credit. The state’s 2.6¢ export rate applies to Entergy Louisiana customers in Metairie, Kenner and elsewhere, not to Orleans Parish.
Can I put solar on a building downtown?
Not with net metering or a grid connection inside Entergy New Orleans’ Downtown Network Area, roughly between the Expressway, Claiborne Avenue, Esplanade Avenue and the river. Near its edges, ask Entergy before planning a system.
What happened in the May 2025 New Orleans blackout?
With several generating units out, MISO, the regional grid operator, directed Entergy and Cleco to shed about 600 megawatts on May 25, 2025 to protect the grid; conditions recovered within about three and a half hours. A battery or power station covers that kind of event well.
Who can pull a solar permit in New Orleans?
Only an electrical contractor holding a City of New Orleans Class “A” electrical license. Since March 2025 the application also needs an approved SolarAPP+ plan review, submitted through the One Stop App.
Sources
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 for 2024 (sales, reliability, service territories, net metering), read October 3, 2026. Entergy New Orleans net metering and EV pages; Entergy Louisiana net metering page; Entergy eTech; Energy Smart; Entergy Hurricane Francine updates (September 2024) and winter weather release (January 2025), read October 3, 2026. MISO May 25 Load Shed Event Report (August 2025). City of New Orleans Safety and Permits; Jefferson Parish Generator Permits; St. Tammany Parish Permits and Inspections. FEMA National Risk Index. NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020. AFDC Station Locator, October 3, 2026.