Entergy Louisiana wants to hike customer utility bills again

By Wesley Muller
Contributing Writer

(lailluminator.com) — Entergy Louisiana wants to again raise prices on its customers, and state utility regulators are expected to discuss the proposed rate hike last week on Wednesday (Oct. 18).

The company has asked the Louisiana Public Service Commission to approve an increase on its electricity prices. Entergy is seeking an additional $173 million over a three-year term beginning in September 2024. That could translate to a roughly five percent increase on a typical customer’s bill.

In its filing, the company said the additional revenue would allow it to earn an “appropriate” profit to continue to “make the grid stronger and more reliable” for its customers. Entergy noted that it still provides electricity in Louisiana at prices below the national average.

Entergy’s request comes less than a year after the company added a $1.5 billion storm recovery fee, which translated to a cost of roughly $5.50 on the monthly bill of a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour home. It also comes in addition to a separate pending request Entergy made to bill customers for other grid hardening projects.

The LPSC will discuss the proposal when it meets Wednesday but won’t make a final decision until it studies the proposal and hears from various customers and organizations that will be impacted by the rate hike – a process that will likely continue into next summer.

This article originally published in the October 23, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.