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Insights > 5 Things You Need to Know About Louisiana’s Biggest Utility!
5 Things You Need to Know About Louisiana’s Biggest Utility!
04/17/2017
Do you know how Entergy Louisiana powers life? Chances are you’ve never really thought about us or how we work to help our state and communities. Well, here are some things you might want to know!
1. Our rates are among the lowest in the U.S.
Our average residential rates were more than 30 percent below the national average, according to 2016 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
And we’re working hard to keep your costs low. In the first two years since we joined MISO, a regional transmission organization that also operates a power market, our customers have saved more than $200 million. It’s a figure likely to grow in the years ahead. The savings primarily come from the more efficient dispatch of generation and the need to keep fewer power plants in reserve and ready to run if needed.
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Louisiana had the lowest residential rates in the nation during 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. |
2. We are investing to modernize our infrastructure so Louisiana can grow.
We have a prudent, clear-cut plan to upgrade our aging utility infrastructure so we can continue to deliver the clean, affordable and reliable energy you need. Our plan also ensures we will have low-cost power available when companies decide where to locate facilities.
Our focus is on developing new, more efficient sources of power and continuing to build a more resilient power grid throughout the state.
We’re making progress. Construction of our St. Charles Power Station is underway, and the Louisiana Public Service Commission is considering our proposal to build the Lake Charles Power Station, a second highly efficient plant that will save customers between $1.3 billion and $2 billion over its anticipated 30-year life.
Louisiana’s low-cost energy, including electricity, is one of the factors fueling the state’s ongoing industrial expansion. We continue working closely with our local and state economic development partners to attract new jobs to Louisiana. Our efforts have helped create more than 23,000 new jobs in Louisiana since 2005.
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Entergy Louisiana serves the recently expanded CF Industries nitrogen facility in Donaldsonville. The plant is now the largest of its kind in North America. It employs some 450 workers in the production of urea, urea-ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia for agricultural and industrial customers. |
3. We are developing solutions for a smarter, cleaner energy future.
We’re planning to add new technologies to our transmission and distribution grids so we can meet your expectations for great customer service and deliver new ways of saving energy and money.
It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re on our way. Work continues on making our grid more resilient. And we have asked regulators to approve a plan to install what is essentially the foundation of a modern energy network – an advanced metering system.
Initially, advanced meters will give us information to help us restore power faster when there are outages and resolve billing issues quicker. But that’s only the beginning. It will allow us to create new tools to help you better understand and manage your energy usage. And beyond that are technologies to create an integrated energy network that will include distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar or plug-in electric vehicles.
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In the future, plug-in electric vehicles like the one shown above will be among the distributed energy resources integrated into the grid. An Entergy grant allowed for the purchase and installation of the first 11 electric vehicle charging stations in the downtown area for the Green Park Baton Rouge program. |
4. We’re a leader in preserving Louisiana’s environment.
We are increasing our environmental efficiency with each new project. The carbon dioxide emission rate of Entergy Louisiana’s generating fleet is already 35 percent below the EPA standard for new combined-cycle power plants. And it will only get better as we continue developing new, cleaner sources of energy. Combined-cycle plants like the St. Charles Power Station emit, on average, about 40 percent less carbon dioxide compared to our older natural gas-fired units.
But the key driver is the largest source of clean energy in Louisiana – nuclear power. About 25 percent of the energy you use is from nuclear plants, almost all of it produced by our Waterford 3 and River Bend nuclear units. These plants have been reliable sources of emission-free energy in Louisiana for over three decades.
And we’re looking at adding new sources of emission-free energy to our system. We are working to finalize two offers to provide renewable energy selected through a request for proposals issued last year. We hope to make an announcement in the coming weeks. The renewable energy proposals will be subject to approval by the LPSC.
Our performance contributes to the ability of our parent company, Entergy Corporation, to meet its voluntary goal of keeping carbon emissions 20 percent below year 2000 levels through 2020. Today, we are 8 percent BELOW our cumulative goal as outlined in our new integrated report.
At the same time, Entergy has taken a leading role in working to create a more resilient Gulf Coast. The company has funded research, pilot projects and participated in public outreach efforts to build a consensus for action. Our employees are making a difference, too, volunteering to help rebuild wetlands as well as other environmental improvement activities.
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Entergy has joined forces with Tierra Resources and others to expand a pilot program aimed at reducing wetlands loss through the aerial seeding of mangroves. |
5. We invest millions each year to build stronger communities.
Our future is directly linked to the economic and social health of the communities we serve, so we partner with agencies across the state to help our cities and towns prosper. In 2016 alone, Entergy donated $11.7 million through 973 grants to Louisiana non-profit groups.
Two of our more successful efforts include ongoing support for Teach for America’s work in north and south Louisiana and the creation of the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone. We provided seed funding to create a $30 million school excellence fund. The program is growing successfully thanks to the efforts of our partners:
- Teach for America
- City Year
- New Schools for Baton Rouge
- Communities in Schools.
We’re also quick to lend a hand to friends and neighbors when disasters strike.
After the historic flood of August 2016, Entergy donated about $500,000 to a variety of organizations.
But the muscle we put into helping those in need may be just as important. More than 400 Entergy employees, friends and family members logged 10,000-plus hours of volunteer service in response to the flooding.
Entergy employee John Miller said it best as a group of co-workers, and their family members, helped clean out his flood-damaged home in the August heat: “People make up a company, and you know we’ve got some good people here at Entergy.”
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Entergy funding supports the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone, which is succeeding thanks to the work of partner agencies like City Year, New Schools for Baton Rouge and Teach for America. |
