BATON ROUGE – Entergy Louisiana has developed several new flexible payment options for customers who are having difficulty paying their utility bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company will work with customers on a case-by-case basis to provide relief options that are tailored to their needs. For example, customers will now have the ability to extend payments of their past due amounts over a longer period. Residential customers will have the option to fold-in their past due amounts using Levelized Billing, a program that averages payments for a more consistent monthly bill. Commercial and small industrial customers also will be offered flexible payment arrangements to help in their recovery.
Customers should access bill relief options through myAccount online or the automated call system through 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) as soon as possible to avoid potential, extended delays that could result from limited access to representatives due to increased call volume.
Additionally, working with the Louisiana Public Service Commission, Entergy Louisiana has extended the suspension of electric and gas service disconnects for non-payment and waived late fees dating back to March 13 until the state enters phase two of the federal guidelines for reopening the economy, or if the commission directs the company to end these measures sooner. Customers who are able should continue making payments on their electric and gas accounts to ensure balances do not continue to grow.
Entergy Louisiana is sending a letter and/or email to residential and commercial customers with outstanding balances and providing information on how to access payment relief options.
“We are committed to keeping the lights on and the gas flowing and improving our systems to better serve our customers during these extraordinary times. We are also committed to working directly with our customers in need as we have historically done during past natural disasters and other significant events,” said Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO.
Entergy offers customers the following tools to help manage and pay their bills:
- Energy Efficiency Tips – The room by room savings page includes tips on how to make your home more energy efficient.
- Level Billing – Pay about the same every month, with no surprises. Entergy averages your bill over a rolling 12-month period so you have a consistent bill each month of the year.
- Pick-A-Date – Choose what day of the month you get billed to line up with your budget and manage your cash flow.
- Power to Care – Through Entergy’s The Power to Care program, local nonprofit agencies can provide emergency bill payment assistance to seniors and disabled individuals in crisis.
If you have trouble accessing the above tools online, have questions or need help, call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749).
Entergy Louisiana also has created two virtual customer resource hubs that include a compilation of local, state and federal resources that could help residential customers and small businesses during the pandemic. Residential customers should visit entergy.com/covid-19/laresources/ and small business owners should visit entergy/com/covid-19/lasmbiz.
Additional details on Entergy’s response to COVID-19 can be found at entergy.com/covid-19.
Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to more than 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. It has operations in southern, central and northern Louisiana.
Entergy Corporation 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, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of $11 billion and approximately 13,600 employees.