News Release > Five Years as MISO member Yields Big Benefits - Entergy Arkansas Customers Save Estimated $223M

Five Years as MISO member Yields Big Benefits - Entergy Arkansas Customers Save Estimated $223M

04/25/2019

Entergy Arkansas customers have saved nearly a quarter of a billion dollars from the utility’s membership in MISO, a regional transmission organization.

Customers have saved approximately $223 million in the five years since Entergy Arkansas joined MISO, formally known as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.

MISO manages the flow of power on the transmission grid, facilitates the planning of new transmission facilities, and operates markets for the purchase and sale of wholesale energy and other products. Its market footprint stretches from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

The estimated $223 million in savings realized between 2014 and 2018 is largely because power plants are dispatched more efficiently on the transmission grid, resulting in a lower delivered cost of energy. Significant savings also arise from MISO members sharing generation reserves across the organization’s footprint, producing long-term benefits for customers.

“Our first priority is to provide safe, reliable electric service to our customers at a reasonable rate,” said Kurt Castleberry, director of resource planning for Entergy Arkansas. “When we proposed joining MISO, we told our customers that this would be a good business decision that would benefit their bill each month. We believe we have made good on that promise.”

Entergy Arkansas’ residential rates are 13 percent below the regional and 25 percent below the national average, according to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration for the 12-month rolling average of February 2018-January 2019.

“Our membership in MISO has been a highly effective tool in helping us control costs and keep our rates among the lowest in the nation,” said Castleberry. “Our customers have saved on average about $45 million per year since we joined.”

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 700,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) 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 nearly 9,000 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 nearly 13,700 employees.

-30-