Entergy Louisiana customers could see increase in bills due to streetlight upgrades
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Some Entergy customers may see an increase on their bill due to upgrades being made to streetlights.
Customers may have received letters about the potential impacts of LED lighting replacement. The replacement is necessary because “certain older-style bulbs and fixtures are no longer being manufactured, making it challenging to replace damaged or broken lights with the same equipment in all scenarios,” according to Entergy.
“These new LED fixtures are currently more expensive than traditional, older technology fixtures, and we understand that some customers may have concerns regarding potential bill increases associated with these upgrades,” Entergy Louisiana said.
The energy company said lighting typically makes up a small part of a customer’s bill and those who get upgraded fixtures won’t see a significant change in their bill.
Entergy highlighted the benefits of LED fixtures, including “brighter lighting, improved energy efficiency and a longer lifespan.”
“We recognize that streetlight and private area light ownership and rates can vary based on location and existing infrastructure,” Entergy said. “To mitigate any potential increases in utility bills, we are actively working to minimize customer costs associated with the transition to LED technology. We have submitted a proposal to the Louisiana Public Service Commission aimed at reducing or eliminating the impact on customer bills, and this proposal is currently pending approval.”
Customers who are paying the company for streetlighting services won’t see charges change until all neighborhood streetlights are upgraded, Entergy said.
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If you know of a streetlight outage or issue that needs to be addressed, you can make a report at Entergy Streetlight Repair.
BRProud asked the mayor’s office who owns or pays for the streetlights that are getting new LED lights.
Mark Armstrong, chief communications officer, said, “We will have to refer you to the utility company regarding any billing questions. In general, City-Parish has jurisdiction over many of the street lights in Baton Rouge. We work with utility companies to maintain those lights.“
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