Customer bills are lowest in several years

Baton Rouge, La. – November electric bills for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. customers are down more than 34 percent from last year and are the lowest they have been in more than seven years.

Thanks in part to lower natural gas prices and a one-time refund, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in November can expect to see a bill of $70.29. That’s more than $35 lower than last November’s costs of $107.16 for 1,000 kWh and reflects a drop of 34.4 percent.

The savings is chiefly driven by a drop in natural gas prices. The price of natural gas peaked at a cost of more than $13.50 per MMBtu in July of 2008 before falling to as low as $3.58 per MMBtu earlier this year. The Henry Hub price for the beginning of November was $4.28 per MMBtu. The reduction is also helped by a one-time credit of $4.37 per 1,000 kWh that is the result of the company’s recent formula rate plan settlement with the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

“We are pleased that the reduction in the price of natural gas has led to lower electricity costs for our customers,” said Entergy spokesman Philip Allison. “We are fortunate to be able to pass along decreases at a time when the holidays are approaching and many customers are experiencing challenges from the current economy.”

In addition to lower bills, Entergy customers in Louisiana are also benefiting from proactive maintenance practices that have steadily reduced the number of outages by nearly 25 percent since 2004.

“We monitor the frequency and duration of outages on a daily basis,” Allison said. “It allows us to identify areas that need to be inspected and proactively address potential issues that could affect reliability before it becomes a problem for the customer.”

Entergy’s Louisiana utility companies serve more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are part of Entergy Corporation’s electric system serving 2.7 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

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