Entergy Louisiana ranked 43rd among the nation`s 53 largest electric utilities in a new study examining the utilities’ energy efficiency programs, which help the companies avoid customer rate hikes.
The 2023 Utility Energy Efficiency Scoreboard, which was published last month by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, gave Entergy Louisiana 17 points out of a possible 100 in terms of its policies and programs to enhance energy efficiency – that is, applying new technologies to an electrical system that provide the same or better functionality using less energy. On average, the 53 utilities received scores of 36.8 out of 100, according to the report, which is based on 2021 data..
“Entergy Louisiana marginally improved its energy-efficiency program spending and savings over the last three years but has the potential to achieve far greater energy savings,” a statement written by the report’s lead author, Mike Secian, and emailed to the Louisiana Record says. “The utility spent 0.21% of its revenue on energy-efficiency programs, a tenth of the national average of 2.23% and less than half its current regulatory spending limit of 0.5%.”
New rules recently proposed by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, which would allow a third-party administrator to oversee energy-efficiency programs across the state, would boost spending on energy efficiency, according to Secian.
“The proposed rules would set an efficiency spending goal that is more than triple what Entergy Louisiana is currently spending,” he said. “Entergy Louisiana performed well in only one category (out of 27), earning full points for offering a diverse set of efficiency programs targeted to low-income customers.”
An Entergy Louisiana spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The utilities examined in the study saved a total of 18.7 terawatt-hours of energy in 2021, reflecting a 5.4% drop in savings compared to 2018, according to the report. Barriers to achieving improved energy efficiency include supply-chain problems, an inability to hire skilled contractors and legislative or regulatory limitations, the 2023 Scorecard says.
One terawatt-hour of energy is enough to provide electricity to 70,000 homes for a year.
The top-rated utility for energy efficiency was Eversource Massachusetts, while the company with the lowest score was Ohio Edison.