Customers to See Bills Drop by about $13, $15 and $20 Respectively
Beaumont, Texas – Southeast Texas
thermometers will still be sky high in August, but electricity bills are going
down.
Entergy Texas, Inc. customers will
see a line item credit on their bills in August, September and October that will
drop the average 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential bill by about $13, $15 and $20,
respectively. In August, the credit will be $13.06, bringing the average bill
down from $92.46 to $79.40, a decrease of about 14 percent. In September, the
credit will be $15.21, making the average bill $77.39 and in October, a credit
of $20.86 will make the average bill $71.60.
The credits are a result of the
agreement Entergy Texas, Inc. has with the other companies in the Entergy
Corporation system of electric distributing companies, which includes companies
in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The agreement calls for the cost of
producing electricity for customers to be “roughly equal” among the companies.
That means if it costs more to produce power in one company than in another, the
Entergy utility in the state with the lower cost must make payments to customers
in the higher cost state.
The credits customers are receiving
this year total $67.6 million, including interest and represent payments made to
Entergy Texas in 2008 by Entergy Arkansas, Inc., where in recent years
coal-fired power plants have produced lower-cost electricity.
The credits will reinforce lower
bills Entergy Texas customers are already receiving as a result of decreases in
the cost of fuel used to make electricity. In March, Entergy Texas put a fixed
fuel factor in place that was almost $28 less per 1,000 kilowatt-hours than
before. And in July, customers began receiving a fuel refund of $11.46 per
month, a refund amount that will be in place through September. The lower fixed
fuel factor and subsequent fuel refund are consistent with the fact that Entergy
Texas does not make a profit on fuel. What the company pays for fuel is a
pass-through charge to customers.
“Costs in the utility industry are
affected by many things, some of which are not in our control,” said Joe Domino,
president and chief executive officer, Entergy Texas, Inc. “Fuel prices are an
example of one of those things. This year, we have been fortunate to be able to
pass along to customers some decreases in costs at a time when bills are
typically their highest.
“We cannot predict what may happen
next week, next month, or next year, but we work hard to manage the business for
the benefit of the customer,” he said.
Entergy Texas, Inc. provides
electricity to 395,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy
Corporation. Entergy Corp. is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in
electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and
operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.
Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13
billion and approximately 14,700 employees.
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http://www.entergy-texas.com
