The Louisiana Public Service Commission and Entergy Louisiana have resolved years of litigation over policies and pricing related to nuclear energy and agreed to new retail electricity rates for Entergy customers in the state.
The commission last week unanimously endorsed the settlement with Entergy that provides rate credits to customers, to the tune of $265 million, as a result of what the commission described as overcharges due to ratemaking practices and “high costs” associated with operations at Entergy’s Grand Gulf nuclear plant in Mississippi.
The settlement will increase overall utility rates for Entergy Louisiana customers, but only by a fraction of what the utility originally proposed, according to the commission. In a news release, Entergy Louisiana stressed that the settlement would better position the utility to make the state’s energy grid more reliable and capable of handling industrial expansion.
“Key components of the rate settlement include a reduction of late fees, elimination of connection and reconnection fees and the expansion of eligibility for low-income senior bill discounts,” Entergy Louisiana reported.
The watchdog group Alliance for Affordable Energy expressed support for the settlement.
“I’m pleased to say that we support this late fee rate change and are encouraged by (Energy Louisiana’s) willingness to reduce fees and identify neighborhoods where further support may be needed to help residents pay their electricity bill,” Jessica Hendricks, the alliance’s state policy director, said in a statement emailed to the Louisiana Record.
Louisiana had some of the highest utility late fees in the nation, according to the National Consumer Law Center. Previously, Entergy Louisiana charged late fees amounting to 5% of the underlying bill, according to the alliance. The settlement cuts that rate by more than two-thirds, to 1.5% of the bill.
In addition, new reporting measures in the settlement will serve to maximize the use of federal funds for weatherization and energy-efficiency efforts for low-income residents, according to the alliance.
Entergy Louisiana reported that legacy customers who use about 1,000 kilowatts of power per month will only see a rate hike of 20 cents every month. But legacy Entergy Gulf States ratepayers will see an increase of $6.30 per month as a result of the settlement, although that hike will decrease to $3.90 per month by the beginning of next year, according to the utility.
“We deeply value the trust our customers place in us and are proud to be their utility provider,” Phillip May, the Entergy Louisiana president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “With the commission’s approval, we look forward to continuing to serve our customers with excellence, now and into the future.”
The settlement will restrict the recovery of corporate aircraft travel and incentive compensation while setting up a Low-Income Affordability Working Group to help less-affluent ratepayers, according to the commission.
“I am very pleased with the settlement provisions that help to assist our lower-income ratepayers in particular and look forward to continued progress in this area," commission Vice Chairman Davante Lewis said in a prepared statement.
Commission Chairman Mike Francis stressed that the settlement would take generating resource jurisdiction away from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where the Grand Gulf litigation was centered, allowing the Louisiana Public Service Commission to assume more effective oversight of ratepayer issues.