THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Entergy Texas, Inc. is committing $650,000 to help community nonprofits and qualifying customers who are struggling with the financial impact of the recent severe winter storm.

These grants will go directly to local nonprofits assisting low-income customers with emergency needs following the winter storm, including the Montgomery County Food Bank, Brazos Valley Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bank, and SBP USA, an organization focused on helping communities rebuild after weather events.

Additional funding also will be provided to The Power to Care, which provides payment assistance to Entergy Texas customers who are low-income seniors and people with disabilities. The Power to Care works through agencies like the Community Assistance Center, Center for Christian Services and the Greater East Texas Community Action Program, among many others.

“We understand the impact this historic winter storm has had on so many of our customers – especially in the midst of a pandemic,” said Sallie Rainer, president and CEO of Entergy Texas. “We know the hardest part of a storm can be when the lights are back on, and the rebuilding begins. We hope this contribution to our critical community partners will help our region recover.”

In addition to these funds assisting local nonprofits, Entergy Texas also has implemented several new bill payment options for customers who may be experiencing financial hardship. Customers that are experiencing financial hardship may be eligible to take up to twelve months to pay their current bill and/or unpaid balances.

“We are committed to working with any customer facing financial difficulties as a result of the winter storm,” continued Rainer. “We know the past year has been incredibly difficult for so many people across our region, and we will continue our work to support our communities during this time.”

The extreme cold temperatures across our region will drive increased consumption by customers which may lead to higher bills. Learn more about the charges on customer bills and how they are set.

If customers have had their new advanced meter installed, they can login to myEntergy to manage and track their energy usage. Advanced meters allow customers to log into their accounts and view how much electricity has been used daily, shown in 15-minute increments for residential customers, rather than having to wait until the end of the month to view their energy usage. Through the new online tools, customers also will be able to set up alerts when reaching budgetary goals to keep them aware of their monthly spending. Advanced meters are designed to provide customers with more timely usage information so that they can decide whether to reduce consumption in order to reduce their electric bill.

Additionally, customers can follow simple energy-saving tips, like setting home thermostats on 68 degrees or lower in cold weather; reversing ceiling fans to push warm air down into the room; and insulating doors and windows.

Bill Payment Assistance

If a high bill has already arrived, there are ways customers can get help managing their costs or even paying their bill.

Deferred Payment Arrangement – Customers experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic are eligible to take up to twelve months to pay their current bill and/or unpaid balances.
Level Billing– Entergy Texas will averages a customer’s bill over a rolling 12-month period to provide a consistent bill each month of the year, with no surprises.
Pick-A-Date – Choose what day of the month to be billed to line up with the customer’s budget and cash flow.
Power to Care– Through Entergy's The Power to Care program, local nonprofit agencies can provide emergency bill payment assistance to seniors and disabled individuals in crisis. Find out more at entergy-texas.com/bill-help/.
LIHEAP – The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is a program that provides money to help people with energy bills and other energy-related expenses. LIHEAP is funded through the federal government and works with community action agencies to help customers pay for and keep electric service in their homes. For information on how to apply for assistance, customers can call or call 877-399-8939 or 877-541-7905 or visit https://tdhca.state.tx.us/community-affairs/ceap/.

For those struggling to pay their utility bills due to the pandemic, Entergy Texas has flexible payment arrangements through its Enhanced Customer Assistance plan. Customers with past-due accounts should contact the company as soon as possible. Entergy has several self-service options for setting up payment arrangements that they can access 24 hours a day:

visit entergytexas.com/bill-help;
select ‘deferred payment’ on the free Entergy mobile app; or
call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749). Press “3” to follow the automated response billing and payment menu.

Customers who need extra assistance can speak with an agent during normal business hours. Call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

About Entergy Texas

Entergy Texas, Inc. provides electricity to approximately 473,000 customers in 27 counties. Entergy Texas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and more than 13,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media.

Trey Poston