Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • Home
  • Who
  • What
    • Consumer Protection and Education >
      • Regulate Our Pipelines
      • Health Impact Assessment
    • Clean Energy >
      • Renewable & Clean Portfolio Standard
      • Transmission
    • Energy Efficiency >
      • EEFA
    • GS4GND
    • Past Work
  • How
    • New Orleans City Council >
      • Council Actions
    • New Orleans Dockets >
      • UD-22-05 Hurricane Ida Costs
      • UD-22-04 Demand Solutions
      • UD-22-03 Battery Storage
      • UD-22-02 100% Renewable
      • UD-21-03 Resilience
      • UD-21-01 Winter Storm Uri
      • UD-19-01 RPS
      • UD-18-07 ENO Rate Case
      • UD-18-02 EV Charging
      • UD-18-01 Smart Cities
      • UD-17-04 Reliability
    • LA Public Service Commission >
      • LPSC 2022 Election
      • Engage with the LPSC
    • Lawsuits & Appeals
    • Climate Initiative Task Force
  • News
    • The Watchdog
    • People's Power Hour
    • MISO Soup
    • Hurricane Ida
    • Events Calendar >
      • AAE House Party
  • Learn
    • Glossary
    • Timeline
    • Reports
  • Get Involved
    • Support
    • Newsletter
    • Intern and Volunteer >
      • Wimpelberg Intern Fellowship
    • Contact Us

The Watchdog

A blog on energy matters in Louisiana!

Your COVID-19 New Orleans and Louisiana Energy Updates

6/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
We have been working hard to ensure protections in New Orleans (regulated by the NOLA City Council) and Louisiana (regulated by the LPSC). Here are all the updates since March!

New Orleans

Picture
On May 21, the New Orleans City Council voted to prohibit Energy New Orleans from disconnecting customers for lack of payment. This protection comes after three rounds of commitments from the utility to not shut off customers' electricity and gas. The Council’s resolution extends to July 1, but Councilmember Moreno, who is also chair of the utility committee, noted the Council’s willingness to consider an extension if necessary. 

Entergy has also begun to provide payment programs to their customers through their online system. If you have a balance on your bill, Entergy now allows you to log-in to your account online and choose to spread those costs over time, up to 6 months. This should make paying down those balances much easier, one bite at a time.

This is a brand new offering, BUT please read the Terms and Conditions of this program. If you agree to use this program to smooth out the payments of your balance but you are unable to make one of the payments Entergy notes it may disconnect you with no additional written notice and you may not be able to take part in other payment plans. The Alliance is glad to see the program offered, but always make sure you know what you’re signing up for!

Picture
Finally on June 4,  the Council approved a program they’ve developed to help folks pay off those balances. Using excess storm reserves and another bucket of refunds due back to Entergy New Orleans customers, the Council has directed the utility to set up a CARES-style program for residents who have lost their income during the COVID crisis. The basics of the program go something like this: If you qualify (using documentation of lost income or unemployment paperwork) you could get $100 per month credited to your account for four months. The Council’s resolution directs these credits to begin in July. 

Since March we have asked the Council to formally require reporting from Entergy on the impacts of COVID on revenues, and the company’s expenditure plans for this year. Not having a clear view into these numbers makes it impossible to properly regulate the utility or develop good policy to respond to their requests. We are aware the company intends to cut some of its spending, thanks to their announcements to shareholders at their 1st quarter call, and since that’s spending that is already baked into our rates, we are insisting the Council and stakeholders know how these balance sheet changes impact your bills.

If you have questions about your energy bill, or need help navigating any of the programs that are available please feel free to reach out to us. 

Also, be aware of these programs that may help with your utility bills.
  • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, (LIHEAP) which is run by Total Community Action in Orleans Parish. The federal CARES act allocated additional funds to this program so the agency will be able to help a significant new group of New Orleanians, including those who have been recently unemployed due to COVID-19. 
  • The Finance Authority of New Orleans is providing support for utility and rental assistance. Click HERE for the flyer. For the Community Support Fund, applicants can call us at 504) 524-5533/(504) 354-0904 or reach our via email at csf@financeauthority.org.
The Council on Aging manages the Power to Care program for the elderly and those with disabilities who need assistance with utility bills. ​​


Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC)

Wind power, consumer protections during COVID, and an investigation into Grand Gulf, the May Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) meeting was a big one!
Picture
The obvious victory from the LPSC meeting on May 27, 2020 was the Commission’s unanimous approval of SWEPCO’s application to buy a portion of three wind power facilities. The wind farms total up at 1,485 MW in nameplate capacity and will be shared with the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), SWEPCO’s sister company, both subsidiaries of AEP. SWEPCO customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas could see up to 810 MW in capacity, 268 MW for Louisiana customers. HOWEVER, the Commission went even further to approve a ‘Flex-up’ option so that if Texas fails to approve the purchase, Louisiana will get a portion of that share for a total of 464 MW of wind capacity! Not only does this mean more wind power on Louisiana’s grid, the joint settlement agreement also comes with a net benefit guarantee to ensure customers save money, as well as commitments from SWEPCO to acquire up to 200 MW in solar capacity and to explore alternatives, such as battery storage, should a gen-tie line be needed to alleviate transmission congestion near the wind facilities. Three cheers for everyone who supported these efforts!

Picture
Now onto what’s unfortunately on everyone’s mind these days: how long am I going to have to pay my electric bills that have piled up since the COVID shutdown, before they cut my power?! We hear ya. We know people are struggling and this space is not easy to navigate. A proposal on the table, ultimately deferred until the LPSC’s June meeting, now scheduled for June 24, calls for a six week ‘grace period’ whereas a utility could not disconnect you for unpaid balances accrued from March 13, 2020 through the end of Phase I. That grace period would allow for families to work out a payment plan with their utilities, develop one on their own, and/or access the much needed additional Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding from the CARES Act. Utilities would also be barred from charging late fees or accumulating interest on those unpaid balances, as well as participating in negative credit reporting on behalf of their customers. Rather, utilities would be strongly encouraged to personally reach out to their customers that may be behind on bills. That means, no threatening disconnection robocalls! After much back and forth on the appropriate length of that grace period, as well as discussion on whether or not these consumer protections go far enough, the Commission ultimately deferred the vote until their June meeting, with the caveat that utilities are still barred from disconnecting customers due to non-payment until a Commission decision can be reached on this. 

Lastly, but certainly not least, the LPSC opened an investigation into the rates and performance of the Grand Gulf nuclear facility. In case you do not check the Status of Nuclear Outages daily, it hasn’t been at full capacity since Lundi Gras, which is surprisingly not surprising. Over the years it has cost Entergy customers billions of dollars and the backward deal between System Energy Resources Inc. (SERI) and Entergy even caught the attention of then Governor, Bill Clinton. More recently, the Mississippi Public Service Commission conducted a fuel audit study and determined, “Grand Gulf is an economic burden to EML [Entergy Mississippi, LLC] when running at high capacity factor and is even worse when production drops”. This investigation could uncover millions in savings for Louisiana customers, and we’re excited to see the LPSC taking a closer look into it. Although the results of this investigation are not expected any time soon, we at the Alliance will be following it closely and we’ll be sure to keep you updated!

****

Check out our other blog post for Information on Utility Bill Assistance

​
****
0 Comments




Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Air Quality
    Alexandria Lia
    ALI
    ALI Meiner
    Andrew Wiseman
    Anniversary
    Bia Assevero
    CalGreen
    CCS
    Charles Rice
    Clean Energy
    CLECO
    CLECO FAQ
    CLECO Sale
    CLECO Sale Denied
    CLECO Stock
    CLECO Stock Prices
    CLECO Takeover
    Climate Change
    Clyde Holloway
    CO2
    Coastal Restoration
    Corruption
    Cost
    David Roberts
    Decoupling
    Dirty Energy
    Education
    Elections
    Energy
    Energy Efficiency
    Energy Policy
    Energy Smart
    Entergy
    Entergy New Orleans
    Environmental Risks
    EPA
    False Solutions
    FERC
    Gas Plant
    Georgetown
    Government
    Grand Gulf
    Green Building
    Grid Failure
    GSREIA
    Gulf Of Mexico
    Health Risks
    Hurricane
    Hurricane Sandy
    Hydrogen
    Industrials
    Infrastructure
    IRP
    Land Loss
    Land-Use
    LA Public Service Commission
    LEED
    Liquid Air
    Louisiana
    Louisiana Public Service Commission
    LPSC
    MACQUAIRE
    Mayor's Office
    MISO
    Natural Gas
    New Iberia
    New Orleans City Council
    News
    NRDC
    Nuclear
    Oil & Gas Leases
    People Power
    Pipelines
    Power Grid
    Power Outages
    Power Plant
    Public Interest
    Regulation
    Reliability
    Renewable Energy
    RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY NETWORK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
    Resiliency
    Resolutions
    RTO
    Rulemaking
    Sacrifice Zones
    Sea Level Rise
    Solar
    Storage Solutions
    Subsidies
    SWEPCO
    TED Talks
    The Town Walk
    Town Hall Meetings
    Transmission
    Utilities
    Vicki Arroyo
    Watchdog
    Water Conservation
    Water Use
    WDSU
    Wetlands
    WWL Radio

    RSS Feed

Intern & Volunteer
If you want to be a frontline soldier on environmental protection, social justice, or environmental racism, come to Louisiana” –Gary Groesch, Founder of AAE
Calendar
View our events calendar ​for important upcoming community events and public meetings!
Support our work- ensure fair, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy for all.
501(c)3 IRS Notice

Alliance for Affordable Energy
Phone: (504) 208-9761
4505 S Claiborne Ave
New Orleans, LA 70175

Copyright © 2022 · Alliance for Affordable Energy
  • Home
  • Who
  • What
    • Consumer Protection and Education >
      • Regulate Our Pipelines
      • Health Impact Assessment
    • Clean Energy >
      • Renewable & Clean Portfolio Standard
      • Transmission
    • Energy Efficiency >
      • EEFA
    • GS4GND
    • Past Work
  • How
    • New Orleans City Council >
      • Council Actions
    • New Orleans Dockets >
      • UD-22-05 Hurricane Ida Costs
      • UD-22-04 Demand Solutions
      • UD-22-03 Battery Storage
      • UD-22-02 100% Renewable
      • UD-21-03 Resilience
      • UD-21-01 Winter Storm Uri
      • UD-19-01 RPS
      • UD-18-07 ENO Rate Case
      • UD-18-02 EV Charging
      • UD-18-01 Smart Cities
      • UD-17-04 Reliability
    • LA Public Service Commission >
      • LPSC 2022 Election
      • Engage with the LPSC
    • Lawsuits & Appeals
    • Climate Initiative Task Force
  • News
    • The Watchdog
    • People's Power Hour
    • MISO Soup
    • Hurricane Ida
    • Events Calendar >
      • AAE House Party
  • Learn
    • Glossary
    • Timeline
    • Reports
  • Get Involved
    • Support
    • Newsletter
    • Intern and Volunteer >
      • Wimpelberg Intern Fellowship
    • Contact Us