Entergy fuel charges going down 8 percent

This article was originally published in The Examiner on Jan. 4, 2018.

By Eleanor Skelton
Staff Writer

Entergy Texas announced that their customers will see an 8 percent reduction in the fuel portion of their bills beginning this week.

“For the average residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month, the fuel charge will be reduced from about $30.22 per megawatt hour to $21.46 per megawatt hour, a savings of $8.77 a month.” Entergy Texas spokesperson Kacee Kirschvink said in a news release.

Entergy Texas suggested customers might want to consider using the fuel savings to cover the cost of new compact fluorescent lightbulbs or some tubes of caulk to make their home even more energy efficient.

“Every little bit helps,” Entergy Texas Vice President of Customer Service Vernon Pierce said. “The fuel charges cover the cost of the fuel we use to make electricity. Entergy doesn’t make money on those costs, and we try to keep those fuel costs as low as possible to keep costs as low as possible for our customers.”

Since fuel costs have remained low, the company’s savings are being passed onto customers, Pierce said. The lower rates will remain on customer’s bills through March 2018.

Electric utilities in Texas, including Entergy Texas, are regulated by the Public Utility Commission (PUCT), Kirschvink said. Monthly utility bills are mostly base charges for electricity service plus fuel charges.

For more infromation about monthly charges for residential customers, visit the Entergy Texas website.

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to about 450,000 customers in 27 counties across Texas, Kirschvink said.

“Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations,” the company said in the news release. “Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approxmately $10.8 billion and nearly 13,000 employees.”