Rising Natural Gas Costs Lead to Rate Increase in 2017

01/11/2017

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Mara Hartmann

Residential rates remain 20 percent below the national average

JACKSON, Mississippi – Due to rising natural gas costs and the end of the current fuel credit, customers of Entergy Mississippi, Inc. will see a rate increase beginning in February. With the increase, the typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh will pay $99.28, or $7.00 more per month than current rates. The national average residential rate is $124.50, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The increase comes after 12 months of reduced rates due to unprecedented low natural gas prices which have helped keep Entergy’s rates far below the national average. Natural gas is used to generate electricity, and the fuel costs are passed through to customers dollar-for-dollar with no profit to the company.

“We had two significant rate decreases in 2016 because of lower-than-expected natural gas prices,” said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi President and CEO. “Because of that, even with this increase, bills will remain lower than they were in January of last year.”

“We work hard to keep rates low by controlling costs where we can, and we encourage customers to keep their usage low by being more energy efficient,” he added.

Electric rates rise and fall year-to-year based on many factors. Electric bills are a combination of rates and usage. For tips on how to lower energy costs without sacrificing comfort, visit entergymississippi.com/loweryourbill.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to approximately 445,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. 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 nearly 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11.5 billion and more than 13,000 employees.

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