NEW ORLEANS — Entergy New Orleans is suspending cutoffs for those who haven’t been able to pay their bill until November 29. Entergy is also reestablishing service for customers who were disconnected for nonpayment from November 12 through Thursday.
This comes after complaints from customers who claim ENO disconnected their power, even though they paid their bill. Thursday, the line at the utility’s bill payment center at Canal St. and Norman C. Francis wrapped around the building. It’s been like that since Monday.
Most of the customers in line had their power turned off or were rushing to make a payment to avoid a disconnect.
“I have not received a paper bill since August of this year and they cut my power off two days ago,” Elliott Smith said.
Smith says Entergy told him his bill was in the mail.
“I recently just got out of the hospital. I’m a disabled veteran. I’m sitting there in my home and the lights went off.”
Erroll Bernard claims he paid his bill on November 5.
“When I got the disconnect notice they said disregard and they cut them off anyway and I had paid the bill,” Bernard said. “I’m here to straighten that out.”
Raymond Rock paid the balance on an $1,100 bill to keep his house from losing power on Friday. He admits, it’s a struggle keeping up with the rising cost of electricity in the city.
“The question is why have the bills risen this high,” Smith said. “What’s up with that? What the deal is? I can’t figure it out. Maybe someone smarter than me can, but I can’t figure it out. It’s a hardship.”
City Council President Helena Moreno is also asking questions. She spent part of the morning talking with customers in line.
“My concern is what is Entergy doing to help people, faster,” Moreno said. “I mean obviously, they need more people working with them at the center, something needs to be modified within the call center so that more issues can be resolved over the phone.”
Entergy New Orleans had resumed disconnects at the start of November after they had been suspended after Hurricane Ida in late August.
“Entergy New Orleans understands that customers may have been impacted by service disconnects and experiencing bill payment issues including long wait times when calling 800-Entergy and visiting the company’s walk in Care Centers,” Entergy said in a written statement.
Moreno said she is inviting ENO official to the next Utility, Cable, Telecommunications and Technology Committee to answer questions.
“I want to see if there is any type of system glitches,” Moreno said. “Is there a problem with the new AMI meters that have been deployed? All of these things are what the council is going to have to be looking into.”
The disconnects come at a time when Entergy is warning customers, with winter approaching, the price of natural gas is going up and that could mean higher customer bills in the months to come.
Entergy New Orleans full statement:
Entergy New Orleans understands that customers may have been impacted by service disconnects and experiencing bill payment issues including long wait times when calling 800-Entergy and visiting the company’s walk in Care Centers.
Entergy New Orleans is suspending disconnects for nonpayment for customers through Nov. 29. In addition, we will be reestablishing service for customers who were disconnected for nonpayment from Nov. 12 through today. We continue to work with our community partners and the City to help those customers eligible for bill assistance to suspend disconnects.
Entergy New Orleans has several bill payment options for those needing help paying their energy bills, including payment extensions, deferred payment arrangements and level billing. For more information on bill payment options and assistance, please visit https://www.entergy.com/billhelp/.
In addition, the Power to Care program, which is funded by donations from Entergy employees, customers and shareholders and the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program are available to assist customers who may be struggling to pay their utility bills. The City of New Orleans’ Rental Assistance Program also offers utility bill assistance. Please visit https://nola.gov/community-development/emergency-rental-assistance/ for application and qualification information.