Located in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, Mount Carmel Academy serves 1,200 students across its 9-acre campus. While the school did not face critical energy cost issues, it saw an opportunity to reduce its energy use and lessen environmental impact. Its decision to enroll in the ���ϳԹ��� Smart program demonstrates leadership in responsible energy management.

���ϳԹ��� Smart’s Large Commercial Automated Demand Response Program rewards organizations that reduce electricity use during peak demand periods. Mount Carmel Academy recognized this as a clear opportunity to support our electric grid and promote sustainability. Since joining the program in 2021, the school has earned $51,237 in incentives. More importantly, it has reduced its energy footprint while reinvesting those savings into its facilities and education programs.

“As committed environmental stewards, we recognize the importance of conserving our planet’s finite resources,” said Sister Camille Anne Campbell, president of Mount Carmel Academy. “This program not only aligns with our values but also presents a great opportunity to teach our students about sustainability and resource conservation,”

The academy’s participation also serves as a teaching tool as it integrates real-world examples of energy conservation into the educational experience. The initiative reflects a deep sense of environmental responsibility, not just from the school’s leadership, but from the student body as well.

Mount Carmel Academy continues to lead by example, showing how educational institutions can play a vital role in building a more sustainable New Orleans. Entergy New Orleans’ ���ϳԹ��� Smart program is proud to partner with a school that turns environmental values into measurable action.

Similar to how people now get storm warnings through their electronic and mobile devices, the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System will give local residents more information in a timelier manner should an emergency occur. The IPAWS system has been used nationwide for years and is currently used by major nuclear plants for emergency alerts.

IPAWS works by sending local emergency messages to the public through mobile phones using wireless emergency alerts, to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System and also on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s, or NOAA, weather radio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency developed IPAWS over a decade ago.

In case of an emergency, notifications would be shared directly with phones, radios and televisions within a 10-mile radius of the plant. Though they might not recognize the name, many southern U.S. residents are familiar with the system through tornado warnings and AMBER Alerts.

Working with local leaders and emergency management officials, Entergy expects to transition to the modernized system by April 23. As part of the process, West Feliciana Parish will test the system during the transition to ensure it operates safely and reliably.

Eventually, local sirens will be obsolete. At one time, they were the best technology available. But today, it is sometimes hard to hear sirens inside structures, and the IPAWS system has been tested and refined over many years, allowing immediate access to potentially lifesaving information.

After the transition, monthly siren tests will stop. The new system will be tested monthly, but local residents generally will receive only one test message per year. More information will be shared over time, including additional system test dates.

About Entergy Nuclear

Entergy Nuclear, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the organization responsible for supporting the operation of the Entergy utility nuclear fleet. Owned by Entergy’s utility companies, the nuclear fleet consists of five reactors in four locations, generating enough clean, carbon-free electricity to power millions of homes. For the latest news from Entergy Nuclear, visit the  and connect with @EntergyNuclear on social media.

About Entergy 

Entergy produces, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing for growth and improved reliability and resilience of our energy system while working to keep energy rates affordable for our customers. We’re also investing in cleaner energy generation like modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. A nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, we deliver more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and connect with @Entergy on social media.

Although Entergy has been longtime supporter of JAGNO and its financial education programs,  it’s been a few years since we’ve had a physical presence in New Orleans JA BizTown. The beginning of this year marked our return to the hands-on learning facility, which features many different real-world businesses and industries, such as a utility company, a bank, non-profit organizations, a restaurant, an insurance agency, a construction company, a media outlet, a healthcare facility, city hall and many more.

JA BizTown bridges classroom learning with real-world experience. After weeks of in-class lessons, students in grades four through six visit the simulated city and step into the roles of CEOs, CFOs, and other employees. They run businesses, manage finances, and make decisions mirroring the professional world. Each year, about two dozen schools from across the region participate in this unique learning experience.

“Our team exhibited great enthusiasm and a genuine interest in JA BizTown from the start, applying their complementary skillsets to create an educational, engaging, and empowering environment for participating students,” said Reginald Jackson, chief accounting officer at Entergy. “They wanted to create something special—a site that would teach students about Entergy, our history and impact, and how our business and industry operate. And they succeeded.”

The team took great care in designing our storefront to showcase Entergy’s role in the community and impact in the energy sector. Leading this effort were four of our employees: Sumesh Arora, diversity and workforce strategies program manager; Chad Brumfield, manager of advertising and brand; Amanda Distefano, senior manager of facilities planning and operations; and Destinee Fralick, tech training specialist and senior leader of powergen training. Chief Accounting Officer Reggie Jackson, who serves on JAGNO’s board of governors, invited the team to take on this project after the Entergy Charitable Foundation approved a sponsorship request from JAGNO.

The Entergy storefront features several elements designed to educate and inspire:

• A historical milestones display introduces students to Entergy’s rich history and evolution.
• Solar panel signage draws attention to renewable energy, capturing students’ interest from the moment they arrive.
• A work and customer service area gives students hands-on experience running a utility company.
• A career opportunity exhibit highlights the diverse range of jobs available at Entergy.

We will be also adding a shadowbox display that will illustrate how electricity travels from generation plants to homes that helps students understand the science behind the services we provide.

In January 2025, the BizTown storefront welcomed its first group of students—fifth graders from Christ Episcopal School in Covington, Louisiana. Local Entergy volunteers, including Senior Supply Chain Advisor John Credeur, were on hand to guide the students through the simulation. John explained how electricity is generated, transmitted, and distributed, discussed the growing importance of renewable energy, and introduced the students to different career paths at Entergy. He even became the first “customer” of the day by purchasing electricity from one of the student employees using pretend money.

Larry Washington, president of JAGNO, emphasized the significance of Entergy’s involvement with the BizTown project. “We try our best to make sure JA BizTown is representative of the community we serve,” he said. “It’s good for students to understand what Entergy is and does, and why it’s so important to our community.”

By sharing our story with the next generation, we hope to inspire young minds to see the energy industry as a place where they can make a difference—powering progress in their communities and beyond.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I spend most of the day in the control room because the control room supervisor is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the plant. A lot of it is just oversight, making sure that we’re operating the plant safely and that we’re performing all our scheduled activities. When craft workers come in, I may perform a surveillance or do something out in the plant, making sure that whatever we’ve got going on is not going to put the plant at risk. I make sure that we’re ready to respond as needed to keep the plant and the public safe. We rarely have to use it, but we have responsibility for knowing where to find emergency guidance—the emergency operating procedures and abnormal operating procedures—and how to use it.

Which of our company’s values is most important to you?

Teamwork is probably my favorite. I try to get involved with stuff outside of the operations organization, to reach out and work with other departments to bring something together. It’s sometimes kind of difficult when you’re on shift, but when it does work it can be a good thing.

What have you been up to outside of your normal responsibilities?

I’ve visited some of Entergy’s other nuclear sites to see how we do things and whether we’re outside of the norm. I want to know if there’s anything we can eliminate, to be more efficient.

For example, I’ve been working on a project for the control room, trying to get some electronic status boards installed. Currently, we status the plant and equipment on an old-school marker board, so we’re trying to get up to date. I’d like to get some big-screen TVs in there to monitor the plant.

I’ve also been working with engineering and with the projects group to get one of those status boards installed right outside of the control room. We’ve talked about doing that for awhile but hadn’t gotten traction on it. Now it’s getting traction. It’s not implemented yet, but it is in the works, so that’s a huge success.

In what other ways have you looked for efficiencies?

I’ve been trying to think outside the box to streamline our work and perform it more efficiently. The screens would allow us to utilize modern technology to help us in monitoring the plant, and there are also ways to use it for the administrative controls we spend a lot of time tracking.

For example, we have controls for a lot of manual valves and for safety systems, and especially in a refueling outage, we spend a lot of time putting those things into the tracker. It’s something that we can potentially get rid of and use our time for other tasks instead.

Tell us a bit about your background and your history with ANO.  

I grew up in Harrison, which is a couple hours north of Russellville. I went to college at Arkansas Tech University and got my electrical engineering degree. Soon after that, in 2012, I was hired as an auxiliary operator and worked in non-licensed positions for a couple of years. Then I went to reactor operator class and got my license. I was an RO for two years and then got my senior reactor operator license in 2022. I was a shift technical advisor for one refueling cycle, and now I’m the control room supervisor on a crew. I’m glad I was allowed to keep changing positions and doing different things, which is a strength of the operations organization.

What’s are the most challenging and rewarding parts of your job?

The most challenging thing I’ve done was getting my senior reactor operator’s license. The most rewarding part honestly is the people I work with; that’s what really makes this job great. I’m in a control room with two or three other guys for 12 hours for three or four days in a row. If you don’t have people you like to be around, it can be a miserable time. So, I’m blessed and thankful that those guys on crew are great.

Why are you proud to work for Entergy?

Entergy has been really good to me over the last 12 years. Sometimes when you’re a kid coming out of college, you feel like you want to make a difference—and sometimes it’s hard to make that connection when you’re monitoring equipment at a power plant. But I’ve grown to respect the fact that, as our motto goes, we power life. Ultimately, we’re providing power to the people of the community, and I’m proud to be a part of that.

During the 45-minute Power Circuit sessions, students rotated through a series of interactive stations led by professionals in the energy sector. As they navigated through each station, students engaged in hands-on activities, directly interacted with industry experts, and learned about energy-related career opportunities. The tour was designed to broaden students’ understanding of how energy impacts their daily lives and to inspire them to see themselves as future contributors in energy field.

The 2024 Power Circuit Tour included participation from Entergy’s Innovation Lab (KeyString Labs), ���ϳԹ��� Smart, STEM NOLA, Shell, Atmos ���ϳԹ���, and Blackstar Diversified Engineering Firm. Together, these organizations provided students with a well-rounded view of various career pathways, from corporate innovation to sustainable community programs.

As we reflect on this year’s Black ���ϳԹ��� Awareness Month, Entergy New Orleans remains steadfast in our commitment to cultivating the next generation of innovators. Through these interactive learning experiences and direct mentorship, we aim to encourage students to become changemakers that move our industry toward a more sustainable future.

A can-do spirit was in the air last week as 10 teams from Entergy Nuclear headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi took on the task of constructing canned-good creations for a worthy cause.

Teams in the CANstruction competition built canned food sculptures that were ultimately donated to three Jackson-area recipients—the Mississippi Food Network, We Will Go ministries and North Jackson Elementary, Entergy Nuclear’s adopted school.

“It started when someone mentioned that there were so many requests for food donations throughout the year that there needs to be one concerted effort,” said Earnestine Johnson, Entergy senior lead engineer and event organizer. “I happened to mention CANstruction.”

Since 1992, CANstruction events have raised millions of pounds of canned goods for food banks in participating cities around the world.

From Entergy’s project alone, families and individuals across Mississippi will receive more than 10,000 cans of food in time for the holiday season. Mississippi Food Network distributes more than 20.4 million meals each year across 56 central counties. The cans will be distributed via 430 agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens and daycare centers.

We Will Go, a Jackson-based ministry, will use the canned goods to help feed the 20,000 individuals the ministry serves each year. Children and older adults comprise 64 percent of those receiving spiritual and physical support.

“Entergy employees have volunteered at both the MFN and We Will Go ministries, and we’ve seen what they do for the community,” said Joe Pennington, Entergy quality assurance senior manager. “I appreciate working for a company that encourages us to give back to the community through volunteer events such as this.”

Entergy Nuclear’s adopted school, North Jackson Elementary, is another beneficiary of the company’s generous spirit and ongoing volunteer support.

Noting the power of this partnership in helping her students, first-grade teacher Regina Carpenter said, “Not only are we building impressive structures, we’re also building hope and support for those in need. We’re grateful for Entergy’s dedication to making a meaningful impact and for inspiring others to join in creating positive change.”

To acquire the canned goods, the groups were encouraged to be resourceful: They had the option to host food drives, request food donations or discounts from local stores, ask team members to pitch in extras from home or host fundraisers for the purchase amount.

Over the course of the three-day contest, each team was given six hours to build its display.

At the end of each day, a team of judges and employees viewed the creations. In all, 10 structures were on display—including a nuclear cooling tower, complete with real steam rising from its stack; an intricate mini version of the Mississippi state capitol building and a twinkly rendition of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” 

Judges awarded prizes in four categories:

• First place: team OPSelicious, for “Mississippi Capitol Building”

• Second place: team We Are the Canpions, for “A Chili Starry Night”

• Third place: the Echelon Isotopes, for “R2-D2”

• Most cans: team OPSelicious, for “MS Capitol Building”
• The people’s popular choice, based on polled attendees, was used to break the tie for first, second and third places. The award was presented to the Fuel Cyclists for their creation “Food is Fuel.” 

“I honestly was in awe of these CANstruction projects,” said Sam Wells, Entergy communications specialist and event judge. “The teams put a lot of thought and work into them and it’s great knowing these canned goods will be going to help our local communities.”

Nearly a year after a deadly EF-4 tornado tore through the Mississippi Delta, and destroyed essential equipment at our Winona Substation, the facility is back in operation. Throughout the repair process, engineers used creative problem-solving to not only boost the project’s efficiency, but to also save money on materials.

“Instead of going to the storeroom to use brand new supplies for every piece of the project, our grid engineers, with the help of area supervisors, and operations coordinators, went looking for high quality spare parts and structures that were no longer needed at other substations. They spread out across our service area on the hunt for materials that could be applied,” said John Stevens, senior manager, grid.

After a storm, restoration expenses are considered a cost of providing electric service, and they are paid for by customers. “It was important that we found creative ways to lower the cost of the rebuild. We were able to pass savings along to our customers,” Stevens added. Using as many reclaimed materials as possible also helped save time, as supply chain lead times on some new materials would have extended the project’s completion date. These extra efforts to find quality materials show Entergy’s dedication to customer centricity.  

In total, the substation cost approximately $3.5 million. That included replacing towers, a capacitor bank, lots of steel structures, the control house, fencing, and even some poles. The cost of the substation was much lower than what it could have been, thanks to the hard work of the engineering teams.

“There were many days that our grid team here in Mississippi huddled up to determine what equipment needed replacing, and made sure the equipment we gathered was right for the project,” said Stevens. “And project management and design teams in New Orleans served as great partners in making the rebuild efficient and timely. Plus, our construction teams helped relocate the materials.”

While the project moved through its various stages, the Winona community was being served by a mobile substation – a mammoth piece of equipment that acts just like a permanent substation.

“When Winona was impacted by the tornado, it cut the substation out of an essential transmission equation. That substation helps feed three other substations. Bringing the mobile unit in helped us serve the distribution lines while we worked on the transmission end,” Stevens said.

As part of our storm hardening efforts, mobile substations are on standby, ready to deploy when severe weather compromises our substations. And now, the mobile unit that had been in Winona since March 2023 has returned home to await its next heroic duty.

Entergy has implemented this new technology to increase the reliability of our service. This technological advancement emphasizes our commitment to customer-centricity by ensuring we deliver efficient, high-quality services to our customers.

“AI is becoming instrumental in serving our customers,” said Charles Long, Entergy’s senior vice president for power delivery. “This is just the beginning in using the most promising technology to increase efficiency and minimize disruptions.”

Our advanced metering infrastructure is more than just a network of smart meters; it’s a data storage house. The smart meters generate vast amounts of performance data and provide real-time insights into the grid’s performance. By applying AI to this data, Entergy can predict when distribution transformers are likely to fail. This predictive capability is transformative because it enables proactive maintenance that prevents unplanned outages.

Since deploying the AI application to the reliability management teams, Entergy has seen a significant improvement in the reliability of its service. In just one year, this initiative has prevented 536 unplanned outages and avoided over 48,000 outage minutes. These results underscore the power of combining AI with AMI data to enhance grid reliability.

“Combining vast amounts of data from our AMI meters with AI tools allows us to prevent problems before they occur,” said Andy Quick, Entergy’s vice president and chief AI officer. “Although we’re in the early stages of our AI journey, the benefits of the application of AI are already paying off. We’ll continue to integrate AI in our business operations and expect it to benefit both our customers and the company.”

The integration of AI and AMI offers several additional benefits:

• Operational efficiency – AI algorithms automate the detection of irregularities, which leads to more efficient operations and reduced need for manual intervention.
• Load forecasting – Advanced analytics help forecast and plan for peak demand periods.
• Regulatory compliance – This provides timely and more efficient reporting.
• Billing accuracy – The company is providing enhanced data that improves billing accuracy and reduces billing errors.

Improving for our customers is at the heart of this initiative. This work will be planned to minimize disruption to anyone impacted by the maintenance outage, and Entergy will notify customers prior to the time maintenance work is to be conducted.

Long added, “By utilizing this new AI technology, Entergy is setting a new standard for managing reliability. The success of this new program not only highlights the value of innovative technology in the energy sector, but it also promises increased reliability of electric services and enhanced customer satisfaction.”

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, the Gulf South’s largest entrepreneurship festival, will be held from March 11 – March 16, and Entergy joined their podcast in advance of this year’s festivities to discuss how we put our customers at the center of everything we do.

Customer centricity

Last year, Entergy KeyString Labs Vice President of Innovation Michael Cross sat on a panel focused on customer centricity with Gifted Healthcare CFO David Dart, Performance Health Partners Founder and CEO Heidi Raines and Waldo Founder and CEO Justin Wohlstadter.

“A big part of customer centricity is building trust,” said Cross.

To foster trust, our innovation lab prioritizes continuous customer research.

“We do a lot of research,” said Cross. “We use panels and analytics to understand what challenges customers are facing.”

What we do with the research findings is equally important.

“We work with our operating companies and their retail regulators to apply what we learn to make improvements for our customers,” said Cross.

A recording of the 2023 panel is now available on the Big Easy Ideas podcast.

Listen to the interview here on , and .

NOEW 2024

This year, Entergy continues our partnership with NOEW to bring attention to relevant topics like sustainability and artificial intelligence.

Cross will moderate a panel on electrification, sustainability and green infrastructure. This fireside chat will take a systems view of how Louisiana is leading in renewables, from sustainable power generation through green power distribution on the grid. The panel includes Laura Beauchamp, director, resource planning and market operations, for Entergy Louisiana, Dr. Kathy Johnson, president of the University of New Orleans and Lacy McManus, executive director of Louisiana Future ���ϳԹ��� with Greater New Orleans, Inc.

Andy Quick, Entergy’s chief AI officer, will also join a panel with other artificial intelligence leaders at NOEW 2024 to discuss the future direction of these tools to solve major business problems.

Interested in learning more? NOEW is free and open to the public. The panels will take place on Wednesday, March 13 at Gallier Hall. See a full schedule .

Wonders, who is originally from Pittsburgh, Pa., researches the changing landscape of nuclear energy and advises Entergy and industry leaders based on her knowledge.

“The opportunities for new nuclear are changing rapidly,” said Wonders. “I love my position since learning about advanced nuclear technology and being a part of the change is so exciting. I am evaluating new small modular reactor designs and the actions we need to take to get into the new nuclear space. Growth and innovation will be key in an ever-changing market.”

Wonders was originally hired as a program engineering supervisor at nuclear headquarters. In 2020, she transitioned to Waterford 3 Steam Electric Station in Killona, La., where she earned her Senior Reactor Operator license and worked for three years.

In July of 2023, she was hired as a leadership coordinator back at headquarters. Then, an opportunity emerged to be a part of the new nuclear projects team, a position she began in December.

Prior to working for Entergy Nuclear, she worked for seven years for Westinghouse Electric Corporation on the design, construction and licensing of their AP1000 plants. Her broad experience in new nuclear development with Westinghouse and her current fleet experience in operations and engineering at Entergy made her a top candidate for her current role.

Wonders emphasizes the importance of continuing education personally as well as in her career.

“I’ll be at home on my computer and go down a rabbit hole of research with all of the new nuclear advancements and innovations that are happening,” Wonders said. “If we cease to learn, we stop growing. Finding new ways and opportunities to do things and thinking outside of the box are important in the process of becoming the premier utility.”

Wonders explained how her current position relates to Entergy’s goal of producing electricity at an affordable rate for our customers.

“Part of my role is to find out what is the most affordable option for our customers,” she said. “A lot of the new or advanced nuclear designs and technology are linked to building small modular reactors, but we are also researching other nuclear opportunities beyond electricity such as reprocessing spent nuclear fuel or plants that are used to produce both heat and electricity. There’s plenty of options that will benefit our stakeholders. I need to ensure every decision we make will enable Entergy to produce affordable power for everyone.”

Learn more about Entergy Nuclear by visiting  and follow on X/Twitter.