Could Louisiana's Energy and Power Authority sell electricity and meter-management services to a Mississippi town?

Plain-English summary

The Louisiana Energy and Power Authority asked whether it could sell electricity and supporting Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition services to a municipality in Mississippi. The official opinion answered yes to both.

The AG read La. R.S. 33:4545.7 as authorizing wholesale power sales and contracts with units inside or outside Louisiana. The statutory definition of a unit included qualifying governmental bodies of another state. The opinion treated the described SCADA service as electric-meter management necessary to support the power sale and therefore within the authority's related-service powers.

The answer concerns the power and supporting meter services described to the AG. The opinion does not evaluate a particular contract's terms.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2023. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Was the authority limited to selling power within Louisiana?
No. The AG pointed to statutory contract authority involving a unit within or outside the state and concluded that sales to a Mississippi municipality were authorized.

What SCADA service did the opinion address?
The request described electronic meter management for the power sales. The AG treated that service as necessary support for those sales.

Did the AG approve all types of software services?
No. The opinion addressed the described SCADA meter-management service tied to an authorized electricity sale.

Background and statutory framework

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10-A governs the authority. The opinion quoted several powers in La. R.S. 33:4545.7, including charging for services, wholesale power transactions, and contracts with out-of-state units. It also quoted the definition of a unit in La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33:4545.3(8).

Citations and references

Law cited: La. R.S. 33:4545.7 and La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33:4545.3(8).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/23-0074

Original opinion text

State of Louisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
RO. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
Jeff Landry
December 19, 2023
Attorney General
OPINION 23-0074

Mr. Patrick Wartelle
90-A-i PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
Attorney, LEPA La. R.S. 33:4545.i etseq. La. R.S. 33:4545.3
600 Jefferson St., Ste. 603
La. R.S. 33:4545.7
Lafayette La. 70501
.

LEPA has the legal authority to sell power and supporting SCADA services to a municipality in Mississippi.
Dear Mr. Wartelle:

As the attorney for the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (“LEPA”), you submitted an opinion request asking whether LEPA is statutorily authorized to sell LEPA’s electricity and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisitions (SCADA) services to a municipality in Mississippi.

In short, the answer is yes, because LEPA has specific statutory authorization to sell electricity and related services, such as SCADA services for electronic meter management, to municipalities in other states.

LEPA is governed by Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 10-a, titled “Louisiana Energy and Power Authority.” This Chapter includes statutes La. R.S. 33:4545.1 through La. R.S. 33:4545.37.

Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4545.7 contains the rights and powers granted to LEPA by the legislature. Most pertinently, it states:

A. The Authority shall have all of the rights and powers necessary to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this chapter. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Authority, as a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana with full corporate powers, shall have the following rights and powers:

14. To fix, charge and collect rents, rates, fees and charges for output or capacity of any project and for the use of or for the other services, facilities and commodities sold, furnished or supplied through any project.

16. To generate, produce, transmit, deliver, exchange, purchase or sell electric power and energy at wholesale, and to enter into contracts for any or all such purposes.

Page 2

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Mr. Patrick Wartelle
Opinion 23-0074
Page 2

17. To enter into contracts for the purchase, sale, exchange, interchange, wheeling, pooling or transmission, storage of electric power and energy and fuel with any unit within or without the state.

23. To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary in the exercise of the powers and functions of the Authority under this Chapter, including contracts with persons, firms, corporations and others.

26. To do all acts and things necessary to carry out the purposes and to exercise the powers granted to the Authority herein.

(Emphasis added.) “Unit” is defined in Chapter 10-a, “Louisiana Power and Energy Authority,” as: any governmental unit, any investor-owned electric power company and any electric cooperative association or corporation and, in addition, any state, any department, institution, commission, public instrumentality or political subdivision ofany state, or of the United States presently owning a system or facilities for the generation, transmission or distribution of electric power and energy for public and private uses.
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 33:4545.3(8) (emphasis added). These statutes are clear that the legislature intended for LEPA to be able to sell power to municipalities in other states, including Mississippi. SCADA is a computer-based system for gathering and analyzing real-time data to monitor and control equipment that deals with critical and time-sensitive information. In this case, your letter states that LEPA’s SCADA services are electric meter management for power sales. This service is a necessary service to support the power sales. Therefore, under La. R.S. 4545.7(A)(14),(16),(17),(23), and (26), LEPA is authorized to sell these SCADA services to support the power sales to a municipality in Mississippi. We trust that this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

JEFF LANDRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL
/

By:
Mathelle R.L. Hall/
Asistant Attorney General