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Entergy lowering bills
The national economy is facing difficult times, but Entergy Louisiana, LLC customers can continue to look forward to lower electricity bills this March.
Thanks to lower natural gas prices, Entergy Louisiana customers who use 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity or less can expect to see a power bill of less than $100 for the third straight month.
A customer using 1,000 kWh of electricity will receive a bill of about $91.46 in March. That's nearly $50 lower than last August's cost of $140.16 for 1,000 kWh and reflects a drop of 34.7 percent.
This lower fuel cost means that an average customer spends less than $5 in a 24-hour period for electricity. Almost half of that amount reflects the cost of fuel (such as natural gas) that is used to make electricity and the energy from power purchased from the market. It shows up on bills as the fuel adjustment charge and is passed on at cost to customers with no profit to Entergy.
"We know how difficult the current economy is for our customers, and the fact that fuel prices are still well below their peak levels of last summer is good news," said Renae Conley, president and chief executive officer of Entergy Louisiana. "We are very pleased that we can continue to pass this savings on to our customers."
The price of natural gas rose suddenly throughout the spring and summer of 2008, peaking at a cost of more than $13.50 per MMBtu in July. At the beginning of January, however, natural gas prices have dropped to $6.16 per MMBtu. Fuel prices from January are reflected in March electricity bills. The lower fuel costs mean that the fuel adjustment portion of customers' electricity bills is lower. Additional good news for customers is that fuel prices have continued to remain low. At the beginning of March, natural gas prices were $4.07 per MMBtu.
Natural gas is a fuel used to power many of the plants that generate electricity for Entergy Louisiana customers. Entergy does not earn a profit on fuel costs. Fuels costs are passed on to customers at cost through the fuel adjustment charge, dollar-for-dollar, and are audited periodically by the Louisiana Public Service Commission to ensure that utilities do not pay more than necessary for the fuel that is needed.
Even though lower natural gas prices are good news, customers are encouraged to continue to take steps to lower their electricity use. The price of natural gas and other fuels shows up on a customer's bill as part of the fuel adjustment charge, which is calculated from the price of fuel used to generate electricity and the amount of power that a customer uses each month. As customers reduce their monthly usage, their fuel adjustment charge — and their total bill — goes down. |
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