Four Parties File So Far To Intervene In Entergy Arkansas’ $167 Million Rate Case

Since Entergy Arkansas Inc. (EAI) announced on April 24 that it had filed a request with the state Public Service Commission to raise average electric bills by $13 a month, only four parties have requested to intervene in the docket that will be decided next year by the three-person panel led by newly-appointed chairman Ted Thomas.

The list of current intervenors in the case include Arkansas Electric Energy Consumers Inc., the Federal Executive Agencies (FEA), grocery giant Kroger’s Co. and Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

In its 137-page filing in late April, the state’s largest utility makes the case to recover $167 million in new revenue that it said is largely driven by costs to upgrade the power grid and purchase the 495-megawatt power plant Union Power Station near El Dorado for $948 million in December.

“Our employees have put a considerable amount of infrastructure in place over the last two years to enhance reliability and prepare Arkansas for future economic growth,” Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Hugh McDonald said. “This new foundation will help deliver a bright future that includes more investment in Arkansas, more jobs and stronger communities.”

The AEEC, through its attorney Jordan Tinsley of Little Rock, filed to intervene in the case only three days after Entergy Arkansas’ rate case became public in late April. The business trade group that represents some of the state’s largest industrial and agricultural electric users notes in its April 28 petition that the PSC has allowed it to be party to “numerous proceedings” in the past, including the Arkansas utility’s last rate filing in 2013.

Although the industrial trade group has not yet raised any specific objections to Entergy Arkansas’ filing, it said “(we) intend to advocate the interests of our members with regard to cost allocation, rate design, revenue requirement issues, and other issues to be identified in the course of this docket.”

The FEA represents federal governmental offices across the U.S., including the Little Rock Air Force Base. It notes in its May 31 petition that the military base in Jacksonville “is a major consumer of electricity purchased from (Entergy Arkansas).”

“A significant increase in rates could affect the ability of Little Rock AFB to operate many of its loads to the fullest extent possible, and thereby affect the military mission of (base),” the FEA’s filing states. “For the aforementioned reasons, we submit the FEA have a substantial interest in the proceedings in this docket which no other party can adequately represent.”

In its four-page petition to the PSC on May 27, Wal-Mart said it has not completed its analysis of Entergy Arkansas’ filing. “Accordingly, Wal-Mart has not yet identified any specific objections to EAI’s filing, or the grounds and issues of fact and law upon which Wal-Mart wishes to be heard,” wrote Oklahoma City attorney Rick Chamberlain, who is representing the Arkansas retail giant.

In its filing on April 30, Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger notes that it has 30 grocery stores and other facilities in Arkansas, and is one of the utility’s largest commercial customers.

“These (Arkansas) stores purchase more than 60 million kilowatts hours (kWh) of electricity from EAI annually,” the Ohio grocery giant said. “The grocery stores operated by Kroger are high load factor facilities that use energy for food storage, lighting, heating, cooling and distribution, often on a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week basis. If EAI’s application is granted, then the cost for electric power service to Kroger could be substantially impacted.”

To date, the PSC staff or Entergy Arkansas has not filed any objections to the current list of petitioners wishing to intervene in the case. The commission has also granted a motion that all intervenors must file petitions to participate in the rate case docket by June 23, while testimony by the PSC and staff must be filed by Sept. 29.

PSC Executive Director John Bethel said other parties that have intervened in past Entergy Arkansas rate case files have contacted the department’s staff, but have not yet submitted petitions to intervene in the docket. He said the Consumer Utilities Rate Advocacy division of the Arkansas Attorney General’s office submitted its 39-page notice of participation in the rate case docket on April 22.

Once all the interested parties have had a chance to respond to each party’s testimony or rebuttal throughout October, November and December, the PSC staff, intervenors and Entergy Arkansas officials must submit any settlement proposals to the commission by Dec. 31, 2015.

A public evidentiary hearing on Entergy Arkansas’ rate filing request will be held January 19, 2016, at the PSC’s headquarters in downtown Little Rock. Additional public comment hearings will be conducted in Batesville and El Dorado on Jan. 26 and Jan. 28, respectively.