Power Could be Turned Off at Major Downtown Office Building

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Tenants at the Regions Bank building on Texas Street in downtown Shreveport might show up Monday morning for work to a dark office.

Erin McCarty

Swepco has posted notifications on the front door of the building announcing that power will be turned of Monday, August 26th, 2024 "for an undetermined duration of time," due to the account being in arrears. The posted notice read:

"The electric power to 301 and 333 Texas Street, Shreveport, La 71106 is scheduled to be disconnected on Monday, August 26, 2024 or after for an undetermined duration of time. Questions regarding this notice or time frame for power restoration to this facility should be discussed with your property management company."

Michael Corbin, External Affairs Manager at Swepco, told KEEL News on Thursday morning:

We are hopeful we will have a solution by Monday morning to avoid a shutoff.
A large commercial customer uses much more power than a residential home. It does not take long for a commercial account to get much larger.

Corbin couldn't discuss how much was owed by the building owners, Hertz Investment Group, or how long the account has been delinquent, but KTBS reports that they are 6 months in arrears. Foster Campbell, Public Service Commissioner, told KEEL News he thought Hertz Investment Group owed Swepco nearly $500,000.

When asked what it would take to avoid the power being shut off, Corbin told KEEL News:

There is a minimum payment that has to be made.

Corbin says he believes the building is about 80% occupied. The tennants include private companies, tech companies, investment groups and many others. Corbin says he is hopeful an arrangement can be made before Mondays deadline.

We are in the business of selling electricity, not turning it off.

Regions Bank reached out to KEEL News and provided the following statement:

“It is important to note that, while our name is on the tower, Regions Bank does not actually own the facility. In other words, we are not the ones responsible for paying the building’s power bill or other building expenses. As one of many tenants in the tower, we are actively monitoring the situation and remain hopeful for a solution from the building’s owners. In the meantime, it is business as usual for Regions as we continue serving our Northwest Louisiana clients.”
Ashley Foster, APR
Media Relations Senior Business Partner

Foster also said:

Customers are not affected by this.
The tower contains office space for Regions, but does not include a retail banking branch.
That means all of Regions’ branch-banking operations in Shreveport are continuing as normal. We’re open for business.