Entergy customers to receive credits on summer bills

Beaumont, Texas - From Entergy - For the second year in a row, Entergy Texas, Inc. customers in Southeast Texans will receive bill-dropping credits during the hottest months of summer.

Entergy Texas customers will see a line item credit on their bills in May, June, July, and August. For the average 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential bill, the May credit will be $28.46. In June, the credit will be $21.44; July, $15.56; and in August, $16.07, for a total summer savings of $81.53.

The credits are a result of the agreement Entergy Texas has with the other companies in the Entergy Corporation system of electric distribution companies, which includes companies in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The agreement calls for the cost of producing electricity for customers to be "roughly equal" among the companies. That means if it costs more to produce power in one company than in another, the Entergy utility in the state with the lower cost must make payments to customers in the higher cost state.

The credits customers are receiving this year total $117.5 million, including interest, and represent payments made to Entergy Texas in 2009 by Entergy Arkansas, Inc. In recent years, coal-fired power plants in Arkansas have produced lower-cost electricity, making the payments to Texas a part of the effort to equalize costs.

"Costs in the utility industry are affected by many things, some of which are not in our control," said Joe Domino, president and chief executive officer, Entergy Texas, Inc. "These payments may not be available in the future, but we are fortunate to be able to pass along these credits at a time when bills are typically their highest."

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to more than 400,000 customers in 27 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corp. 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, and

it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and more than 15,000 employees.