Entergy Arkansas' 705,000 customers will see their electric bills for the summer increase about 1.2 percent beginning today.
An Entergy Arkansas customer who had a $100 bill a year ago will see a bill for $101.20 -- assuming the same amount of electricity is used -- beginning with April's billings.
The change includes a 7 percent reduction in rates because of Entergy Arkansas' annual "fuel and purchased power cost" adjustment combined with an 8.2 percent rate increase recently approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission.
The state's other investor-owned electric utilities-- Southwestern Electric Power Co., Oklahoma Gas and Electric, and Empire District Electric Co. -- will have reductions in their summer rates.
Significantly lower natural gas prices allowed Entergy to lower the cost it passes along to customers to pay for fuel, said John Bethel, executive director of the commission's general staff.
The lower natural gas prices affect energy generated at natural gas plants owned by the utilities and also purchased by the utilities, Bethel said.
"The purchases have been quite a bit less expensive during the last year," Bethel said. "And for the foreseeable future, gas prices are going to be lower."
SWEPCO, which has about 115,000 customers in western Arkansas, has lowered its rates for the summer about a 5.9 percent compared with last year, said Peter Main, a SWEPCO spokesman.
That means a customer with a $100 monthly bill last year now has a bill of $94.10 a month.
Monthly bills for Oklahoma Gas and Electric customers will drop about 9 percent, Bethel said.
Oklahoma Gas and Electric has about 65,000 customers in the Fort Smith area.
Empire District, which has about 4,400 customers in rural Northwest Arkansas, will have a 20 percent drop in its summer rates, Bethel said.
An Empire District customer with a $100 bill a year ago will have a bill of $80 beginning this month, with the same amount of electricity used.
One reason Empire's rates will be so much lower is because the utility also is correcting rates that were too high last year, Bethel said.
Last month, Canadian firm Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. agreed to pay about $1.5 billion for Empire, based in Joplin, Mo. Empire's rates will not be affected by the deal.
Business on 04/01/2016