Entergy Arkansas customers to receive $94 million credit in 2021
by October 1, 2020 4:31 pm 1,775 views
Entergy Arkansas customers can expect to save nearly $94 million in 2021 from the utility’s membership in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), a regional transmission organization, the utility announced Thursday (Oct. 1).
The proposed credit is $19.6 million more than customers saved in 2020, according to a filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission. After commission approval, an average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will have a 25% increase in the MISO credit.
The additional credit will decrease the bill of the average residential customer by $1.11 per month, and the total MISO credit will be $5.55 per month. The credit is to start in October and runs through September 2021.
On a residential bill, the MISO credit is reflected in the energy charge line item, unless a customer prefers it on a separate line.
From 2014 to 2019, MISO membership saved Entergy Arkansas customers nearly $298 million, the utility said.
“Joining MISO in 2013 was a very good decision for our customers in Arkansas as well as customers throughout the Entergy system,” said Kurt Castleberry, director of resource planning for Entergy Arkansas. “Entergy’s membership in MISO has saved Entergy customers in all five operating companies about $1.5 billion over six years.”
The savings can be attributed to power plants being dispatched more efficiently on the transmission grid, and this results in a lower cost of delivered energy. The savings also is a result of MISO members sharing generation reserves across the organization’s footprint, which produces long-term benefits for customers.
“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,” Castleberry said.
Nonprofit, independent MISO delivers electric power across 15 U.S. states and the Manitoba province in Canada. MISO operates one of the largest energy markets in the world with more than $29 billion in gross market energy transactions annually. MISO has guided the dispatch of power from Entergy’s generation facilities and helped in planning Entergy’s transmission expansion and improvements. MISO also operates markets for the purchase and sale of wholesale energy. Entergy Arkansas, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., provides electricity to about 715,000 customers in 63 of Arkansas’ 75 counties.