Utilities Commission to conduct outages hearing

The state's public utilities commission has decided to conduct an investigative hearing on the power outages that plagued Louisiana for days after Hurricane Isaac lashed the state with wind-driven rains.

Commissioner Eric Skrmetta said Wednesday it was the duty of the Public Service Commission to ask hard questions of the utility companies after more than 900,000 residents were left without electricity.

He said the utility companies performed well at restoring power to consumers once the storm had abated but he had questions about their pre-storm response.

The LPSC is an independent regulatory agency that serves as a public utility watchdog.