Submitted by United States Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
LAFAYETTE, LA (August 23, 2024) – Yesterday afternoon, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) visited SLEMCO, otherwise known as the Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Cooperation, at their headquarters in Lafayette. He met employees and thanked them for their work in keeping Louisiana’s lights on.
“When a truck hits a light pole or a hurricane moves through a town, it’s crews from co-ops like SLEMCO that get the lights back on,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Their speed, thoroughness, and commitment provides relief to families and gives them a reason to stay in Louisiana. They’re unsung but appreciated people who make our economy work.”
While there, Cassidy spoke about hardening Louisiana’s electrical grid, which is addressed by his Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA). The IIJA included $65 billion to harden the grid and bolster American energy, with the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources receiving nearly $250 million last October for an energy resilience initiative to enhance statewide emergency response operations.
Cassidy is also an advocate for reliable, affordable energy produced in Louisiana, which electric co-ops rely upon in order to keep their rates affordable. In July, Cassidy amended the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 to boost America’s domestic energy supply. He inserted provisions into the bill from his Offshore Energy Security Act, which requires the Secretary of the Interior to hold offshore oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf. He also inserted provisions from his LNG Security Act, which reverses the Biden-Harris administration’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permitting pause by requiring the Secretary of Energy to approve or deny all LNG export applications within 90 days of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission publishing the environmental review. This follows U.S. District Judge James Cain’s ruling to put the Biden-Harris pause on hold, a ruling that Cassidy praised.
Cassidy also discussed flood insurance, inflation, and dyslexia education with SLEMCO’s employees. He was welcomed to SLEMCO by Ms. Katherine Domingue, their CEO and General Manager.
“We appreciated Senator Cassidy’s visit immensely,” said Ms. Domingue. “Because SLEMCO is a leading electric utility provider in Louisiana, forging strong relationships with our elected officials in Washington is critical. Two-way communication between SLEMCO and lawmakers like Senator Cassidy is the best way we can make certain our customers are protected from industry challenges like grid reliability, grid cybersecurity and federal agency decisions that will directly affect their family budgets.”
