The New Orleans Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed a detailed assessment of utilities regulation in New Orleans. The purpose of the review was to answer several questions:

• Are utility customers in New Orleans best served by the city’s unique regulatory authority? Or, would the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) be a more appropriate regulator for the city’s energy utilities?
• How does the Council deploy its regulatory resources?
• Are the Council’s regulatory processes designed to maximize effectiveness and transparency?

The recommendations presented in the report were intended to provide the Council and the City’s Executive Branch with ways to improve local utilities regulation, including increasing the number of participants with defined roles in the regulatory process, building in-house capacity while reducing the reliance on outside consultants, and implementing safeguards to protect the integrity of the regulatory process and promote effective decision-making.