Shreveport Apartment Residents Furious After Power Cut Off Despite Paying Utility Costs

Residents at Northwood II Apartments on Grimmett Drive in Shreveport are demanding answers after the electricity was shut off at the complex, despite residents saying their power costs were included in the rent they paid.

The power has since been restored, but the outage has raised questions among residents and Shreveport city officials about how the situation happened and whether the apartment owner or management could face consequences.

Northwood II is a 104-unit apartment complex at 2000 Grimmett Drive. The property is advertised as an “all-bills paid” community, meaning residents' utility costs are included in their housing payments.

City Officials Question What Went Wrong

Shreveport Property Standards Director Terrence Green says there is a key issue involving the complex's occupancy and utility situation.

City Council Chairman Tabatha Taylor is also questioning how residents could lose electricity when they had paid what they were required to pay through their rent.

Councilwoman Ursula Bowman is particularly concerned about the impact of a power outage during the extreme summer heat. She says it is illegal in Louisiana to turn off power if the temperature reaches 100 degrees.

City leaders want to know if the property owner or manager could be held accountable in court.

For residents, these problems go much farther than the power. They claim the conditions are the complex are horrible and squatters are a big problem in vacant units.

Tenant Wants Changes at Northwood II

Rosalyn Harper, a Northwood II tenant, says she wants something done about what residents are experiencing at the complex.

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Swepco has now restored power to the property, but residents and council members want answers about why the electricity was disconnected in the first place.

The biggest question remaining is whether residents who paid their rent — including the utility costs — should ever have been left without electricity and whether additional action will be taken against those responsible.