A federal appeals court has rejected an effort by Louisiana utility regulators to make Entergy Corp. subsidiaries in Arkansas and Mississippi pay for ending an agreement with their Entergy counterparts in Louisiana and Texas.
The ruling Tuesday by an appeals court in Washington deals with an agreement requiring the separate Entergy utilities to offer roughly equal electricity rates. At times, this has resulted in Entergy Arkansas making payments to Entergy affiliates with higher production costs — causing Arkansas customers to pay more.
Entergy Corp.'s net income rose 16 percent in the second quarter after the power company received favorable tax terms on financing costs for fixing damage to lines and equipment caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The increase also reflected stronger sales to Entergy's utility customers.
The New Orleans-based company reported Tuesday that its net income rose to $365 million, or $2.06 per share, for the three months ended June 30, up from $315.6 million, or $1.76 per share, a year ago.
Officials say customers at two Louisiana-based energy companies will be receiving refunds as credits on their energy bills this summer.
Members of the state's Public Service Commission voted to let Pineville-based electricity provider Cleco Corp. put a refund on its customers' September bills.
