Entergy

Entergy Louisiana wants to add a new storm fee to its customers’ electric bills to recover funds it spent on repairs from Hurricane Francine.

The approval in New Orleans is part of a larger, $484 million deal that will see Entergy turn over all of its natural gas distribution assets to the firm.

Entergy Louisiana and New Orleans customers are currently charged for both gas and electric services in a single utility bill each month. But the potential sale of their natural gas operations to Bernhard Capital Partners’ new subsidiary, Delta Utilities, could produce two bills instead of one — and possibly charge more for gas.

The company wants a decision made by Friday — just days after it filed the final draft of the proposal.

The average New Orleans resident in 2019 paid about $112 per month. In 2022, that same customer using the same amount of electricity would pay $179 per month — a 60% increase.

Power bill disputes usually sway in the utility company's favor. But as this New Orleans renter's story shows, there are ways customers can get answers.

While land is subsiding throughout the city, industry water use has exacerbated the problem in one predominantly Black and Vietnamese area.

New Orleans City Council members said that bills have hit “unaffordable levels,” and vulnerable and elderly residents are subject to dangerous temperatures if they can’t pay.

Amid skyrocketing energy bills, Entergy New Orleans officials attributed the higher costs to two factors during a City Council committee meeting Tuesday: spikes in natural gas prices and hot summer temperatures.

A comprehensive plan for hardening New Orleans’ electrical grid and enhancing climate resilience will take more time than initially suggested, according to Entergy New Orleans staff.