Here’s what’s behind those high Entergy bills and how you can get help

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - KNOE has received countless comments and concerns from concerned residents who’ve been met with extraordinarily high electricity bills this month. Bills skyrocketed in the latest billing cycle by hundreds of dollars.

As Entergy bills soar, so are frustrations. People are downright angry or fear they can’t pay up, which could be grounds for eviction. If you look closely at your bill, you’ll see they include an energy charge, fuel charge, and storm restoration charge. Damage from major storms hitting the state recently is one factor. Frances Baker at the Louisiana Public Service Commission said Entergy claims they spend eight billion dollars for storm repairs, which are passed along to customers.

“Since it is a publicly traded business, with stockholders and shareholders that benefit from the company they have a right to recoup that cost from ratepayers,” said Baker.

The storm repair fee was approved by the Public Service Commission, but Baker said the fees are higher than previous storm fees. North Louisiana took hits from Hurricane Laura and the winter storm.

“There’s not really insurance, it’s built into their system because they have to go out right away and restore everything and that includes new poles, extra workers,” said Baker. She also said Entergy is facing transportation issues and fuel prices are up.

Higher fuel prices are another factor. Entergy says this is the actual cost of the fuel purchased used to generate the electricity you use.

Entergy’s MyAdvisor dashboard can help you monitor your usage as the month goes back. You can see how much electricity you’re using and how much you might be expected to pay when your bill comes.

There’s not much that can be done to get out of paying what you owe, but you can try to get help. You can ask Entergy for the option to pay your bill off in installments. Levelized billing will keep your bill from spiking during months like this one. Click here to see the options Entergy has available.

Higher prices have led to a rise in the calls for help. Contacting The United Way NELA 211 is an option. This is a free service to the community. Callers can dial 211 to be connected to any available resource providers in the area.

“In the last couple of months, I would say that we’ve had about 250 calls come in with people needing help with their utilities,” said Kim Lowery at the United Way of Northeast Louisiana.

Lowery said just call 211 and they can connect you with resources. Alternatively, you can go to their website.

“We’ve got our 211 database online and people can go in and type in ‘utilities’ and see what resources are available,” said Lowery.

Lowery also said people now need help with their rent because their spending so much on utilities.

Copyright 2022 KNOE. All rights reserved.