Entergy Arkansas Outlines Plan To Keep Electricity Costs Low While Strengthening Grid Resilience In Ongoing Rate Review

Entergy Arkansas has submitted a filing to the Arkansas Public Service Commission to set new base rates that would take effect in January 2027. According to the company, most residential customers will see very little change in their monthly bills because the new structure focuses on improving efficiency, lowering costs and offering more flexible billing options to help keep electricity affordable. The proposed rate options are meant to give customers more choice rather than introduce a standard rate increase. Among the new offerings is an optional time-of-use rate that allows households to reduce bills by shifting part of their energy use to lower-cost hours.

The company has also proposed a low-income rate designed to give a 50 percent discount on the customer charge for more than 113,000 qualifying households enrolled in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. For Arkansas’s extensive farming sector, a customized rate is being introduced to match the unique seasonal electricity demands faced by agricultural customers. Overall bill impacts will differ by customer category, but the company notes that the total retail rate increase across all classes is under 2 percent. A typical household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would see an increase of less than 1 percent, which is about $1.16. For commercial and industrial users, the final impact will depend on factors such as size and load profile.

Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas, said the filing demonstrates the value of the formula rate plan approved by state legislators and the Arkansas Public Service Commission. She explained that this approach allows the company to reset base rates without imposing a large increase. According to her, the structure helps maintain affordability, supports economic development and allows steady investment in the grid while still keeping customer impacts low. A regulatory rate review takes a full look at a utility’s base rates and includes detailed evidence on costs, investments and revenue needs. Entergy Arkansas has operated under a formula rate plan since 2016, which allows yearly adjustments.

This system helps limit sharp swings in customer bills and makes it possible to keep rate impacts modest even when operating costs rise. The company’s electricity rates currently remain about 22 percent below the national average, and Entergy Arkansas says it remains committed to keeping prices competitive. The company also expects to file an annual update to the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act Rider next month. This rider supports long-term investments tied to statewide economic development. When combined with the current rate review, the overall change is expected to be at or below past formula rate adjustments, keeping Entergy Arkansas’s rates well below national levels.

Growth in Arkansas is also helping create long-term financial stability for the system. New large customers contribute additional revenue that can help lower rates across the board by spreading the cost of maintaining the grid over more users. Entergy Arkansas recently announced up to $1.7 billion in customer savings tied to new data center projects led by Google and AVAIO. These companies will pay the full energy costs for their facilities, and Google has also agreed to support a new 600-megawatt solar project paired with a 350-megawatt battery installation. The energy from this project will serve all Entergy Arkansas customers.

Additionally, Google has committed to a $25 million Energy Impact Fund to help with home weatherization, new energy-efficiency technology and workforce development in Crittenden County and surrounding areas. Major economic development projects like these support the four pillars of Entergy Arkansas’s Next Generation Arkansas vision: Better Power, More Power, Job Power and Affordable Power. As part of the Better Power pillar, the company aims to reduce outages by one-third.

To reach this goal, Entergy Arkansas is investing more in vegetation management to keep lines clear, carrying out reliability upgrades across the state and deploying new technology that can detect issues earlier, prevent disruptions and improve power quality for the long term. Landreaux said that Entergy Arkansas has been part of the state for more than 110 years, and many of the company’s nearly 3,000 employees live in the communities they serve. She added that the company remains committed to smart investments, affordable service for families and businesses, and supporting the continued growth of the state.