Unfair Electric Bills Questioned

Customers for Louisiana's only energy source have been paying to help keep the utility giant going for decades through utility bill payments.

Many customers believe they are still paying for the damages caused by natural disasters like Hurricane Rita in order not to affect the company's bottom line and keep shareholders happy. That is the assessment of angry customers who continue to not only pay utility bills but pay bills that continue climbing higher, and a continuation from disaster-related incidents. Many customers, including local resident Queen Christine, believe that it is past time for her and the thousands of other Entergy customers to be paid back the money that the company has “taken” from them. They believe that they have “helped” the company long enough and that it is time to get back what they paid. They are angry because customers like Christine are paying higher utility bills for using the same energy each month. Many customers are not convinced they are being charged fairly for their usage. It seems a rate increase is passed on to utility customers, even as companies like Entergy tout “money-saving measures" to reduce energy consumption. Entergy Louisiana has just completed a $4.4 million program with Louisiana's United Way organizations where they offered a one-time $150.00 credit to customers’ utility bills on a first-come-first-serve basis to “qualifying” customers across the state. Funding was allocated to Louisiana from $10 million in shareholder donations previously announced by Entergy. The company knew that even before the program began with all of its qualifying criteria, the money that was set aside was not going to be nearly enough to help its customers. The program only helped a “limited” number of customers, leaving thousands out in the cold or heat. Christine called that effort to help/assist customers with pacifiers which are only good for babies, not for the adults who still face high utility bills each month. “Give us back all of our money,” said Christine, adding that if the legislators will not come to their aid, perhaps a lawsuit needs to be filed. Christine said that the money “was taken” from customers by adding charges onto their bills was like stealing. She said that if she ran a plug to a neighbor’s house and used their electricity without their knowledge or permission, that would amount to stealing. That is, in effect, what Entergy is doing because paying customers did not give them their permission to do so. She knows that something needs to be done for the customers who are severely suffering. She knows that customers need real relief because a pacifier won't cut it anymore.