Entergy asking to bill customers a storm fee for Hurricane Francine recovery

BATON ROUGE (Louisiana Illuminator) — 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 company is asking the Louisiana Public Service Commission for permission to bill customers more than $182 million to recover what it spent after the storm. 

For each customer, the storm fee would vary based on their monthly electricity usage. Entergy estimates it would amount to roughly $1.10 per month for an average home that uses 1,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity or $0.80 for a home that uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours.  

Francine made landfall Sept. 11, 2024, as a category 2 hurricane in Terrebonne Parish, causing more than 250,000 Entergy customers to lose power over the next several days. 

In its fee application, the company notes that it lost fewer than 1,000 distribution poles and “experienced minimal impacts to its transmission system” during the storm. The utility used 8,000 crew members in its storm response and was able to restore power to 90% of customers within three days and 100% within six days. 

Entergy credits recent grid hardening and infrastructure upgrades as factors that contributed to a speedy recovery, standing in contrast to the recovery after 2020’s Hurricane Laura, which left parts of Louisiana without power for several weeks. 

Although Laura, a category 4, was one of the most destructive storms to ever strike Louisiana, Entergy endured widespread criticism from customers and the Public Service Commission for what some considered was a lack of foresight and preparation for the storm.

Entergy Louisiana spokesman Brandon Scardigli said the company’s infrastructure improvements made after 2021’s Hurricane Ida performed well during Francine last year. 

“[Hurricane Francine] caused damage across our service areas, highlighting the urgent need for continued investment in building a more resilient power grid,” Scardigli said in an email. “…Starting to recover these funds now will provide much-needed capital to support critical investments in strengthening our infrastructure, reducing future outages and ensuring more reliable service for our customers.”

Entergy currently has enough money in its storm escrow account to fund all of the Francine restoration costs, Scardigli said, but using it exclusively would deplete its balance, leaving the company exposed and underprepared for future storms. 

Entergy Louisiana customers are no strangers to storm recovery fees. They are still paying Entergy for six other storms, including Hurricane Isaac in 2012, Laura, Delta and Zeta in 2020, Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Ida in 2021.  

Together, those charges add up to roughly $20 per month for a home that uses 1,500 kilowatt-hours of electricity, according to information from the Public Service Commission. 

Commissioner Davante Lewis, D-Baton Rouge, said he’s not completely sold on the idea of having to charge customers a storm fee to replenish a “rainy day” account and wants to further investigate the necessity of funding storm recovery before instead of after a storm. 

The commission meets Jan. 15 and is expected to hire an outside consultant to review Entergy’s request, Lewis said. Such applications have almost always resulted in approval.

Next week’s meeting will also be the first for newly elected Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan, R-Lafayette, who is filling a swing-vote seat formerly held by moderate Republican Craig Greene. 

Coussan, who was sworn in last week, said he isn’t yet up to speed on Entergy’s storm fee application but is meeting with PSC staff and attorneys for an orientation Thursday to prepare for the meeting.

Editor’s Note: The following article from author Wes Muller was originally published by the Louisiana Illuminator, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization with a mission to cast light on how decisions in Baton Rouge are made and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians. 

Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.