“’We Power Life’ is more than a tagline about providing electricity,” said Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas. “We make it a part of our company’s culture to support the communities we serve, which is also where we live, work, raise our families and more. Helping meet the needs of children and showing how much we care about their well-being helps them grow as adults into strong, healthy, community leaders. It’s truly an honor and a joy to be part of this effort.”

Operation Warm is a national nonprofit that manufactures high-quality coats and shoes for children in need. The coats are designed and manufactured by the nonprofit to be long-wearing, water repellent and machine washable, with a warm fleece lining, deep pockets to keep little hands warm even without gloves, and detachable hoods. They come in sizes 2T to adult. Since 1998, the organization has provided 5 million coats to kids in need across the United States.

The IAFF Union 34 began working with the national nonprofit several years ago after seeing a group of young children shivering at a school bus stop near their firehouse. Firefighters make individual payroll-deduction contributions throughout the year to help fund to the program.

“Helping people during times of trouble is our job, but it’s also part of who we are,” said IAFF Union 34 Vice President Matthew Stallings. “We work year-round to support this program, and the last few weeks have been a concerted effort with Entergy and the Little Rock School District to determine the needs of the students and organize the coats for distribution. It’s worth any effort, though, to see those smiling faces as we do what we can to help children in our community weather the cold.”

These contributions, with the support of a $10,000 grant from Entergy Arkansas allowed the firefighters to purchase 800 new coats for children at Rockefeller and Romine Early Childhood Centers and Gibbs Magnet Elementary in December 2022. The students went home for their holiday break with their new coats, just in time for cold temperatures and winter weather.

Firefighters work with the Little Rock School District to determine which schools participate in the program, based on the needs of the students there. Then they determine the number of coats needed, gather the sizes and gender of the students, order the coats, and organize them for delivery. Entergy Arkansas volunteers join the firefighters for distribution of the coats to the students.

Entergy Arkansas donations total $75,000 in the last eight years, helping students at 12 different schools in the Little Rock School District. Hundreds of students have benefited from this generous commitment to and investment in our community.

Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux said, “While Entergy Arkansas supports Operation Warm with funding and volunteers, the Little Rock Fire Fighters Union 314 members make individual donations and spearhead the effort by contacting the schools to determine the number of coats needed, the sizes and gender of the students, ordering the coats and organizing them for delivery.

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“Our charitable foundation works with partners year-round and across the state to better our communities through grants and volunteerism, and this event is one of our favorites each year,” she concluded.

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“They’re putting me an HVAC unit in,” the homeowner said with a broad smile, “and I’m just grateful for you all.”

The upgraded HVAC unit replacement for Haymer is one of 10 home improvement projects across the state through several nonprofit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Mississippi County Arkansas Economic Opportunity Commission, and Better Community Development with Entergy Arkansas trade allies. Qualified customers are receiving products and services to improve their home’s energy efficiency, which range from HVAC and window replacements to new floor insulation and roof repair.��

It was a hot, busy morning for the four-man crew that took out the older unit at Haymer’s home to replace it with a more modern, energy efficient model that was the right size to effectively heat and cool her home, which should in turn help her control her energy usage and costs.��

“I don’t know how old the HVAC unit is because it’s been here since I moved in, but it hasn’t worked right in a long time,” she continued. “My unit wouldn’t stay on; it’d run for a few minutes then go off. It’d be cold in the house most of the time (in the winter) … It didn’t work at all this summer, so I had window units put in. My utility bill was $333 for last month and over $300 this month, and I’m hoping this will make a big difference.”

Her home is a large, older one-story house with four bedrooms, two baths, living area, and kitchen with a separate dining room. She recently replaced her windows with newer, double-paned and insulated models, which will help the heating and air unit work more efficiently.

“The old system was outdated and too big, and the heating wasn’t working at all. This new one will be more energy efficient, and she’ll see a difference when she gets her first light bill,” said David Green of Green’s Heating and Air.

This summer has reached record-breaking temperatures, often resulting in higher electricity usage and therefore costs. To help, Entergy Arkansas is implementing a series of measures for our residential customers and communities through the high usage summer months, including credit for late fees; credit card payment fee credit; free energy efficiency and weatherization audits, as well as energy efficiency kits.

Entergy shareholders are providing an additional $1.8 million in donations this year to help customers. This includes donations to nonprofits who provide customer assistance, bill credits to qualified customers and other efforts to help customers make ends meet. Here are ways customers can get help:

• Low-Income Home ���ϳԹ��� Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for summer utilities. To find an agency and apply for LIHEAP funding, visit: .
• Additional funding to the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association to help customers with bill payment assistance. Customers are encouraged to visit to find their local Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association provider.
• Entergy has contributed additional funds to The Power to Care to be distributed by The Salvation Army to low-income, older adults and disabled customers. This donation is in addition to dollars already donated to customers through The Power to Care this year.
• Providing bill credits to Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed (ALICE) customers across the state through the United Way. To qualify, customers must have had a total household income of up to 250% of the federal poverty level.

For more information about these new measures, visit entergy.com/answers.

Entergy Arkansas also has several free or low-cost programs available through Home ���ϳԹ��� Solutions for residential customers to make their home more energy efficient, which range from adding additional ceiling insulation and air and duct sealing to providing advanced power strips and replacing light bulbs, showerheads, and kitchen and bathroom faucet aerators with more efficient models. Visit for more information.

Discounted energy efficient products that include programmable thermostats, LED bulbs, dehumidifiers and more are also available to all customers through our marketplace at .

The company currently offers several bill management tools that allow customers to gain a better understanding of their energy use and better manage their payment options.

With myEntergy, we offer several flexible options for you to choose how your energy bill is calculated, as well as when, where and how you pay it. Customers can log in to their myEntergy account and their myAdvisor dashboard to access a number of useful resources, usage and cost, bill history, bill projection, bill analyzer and more.

• PaperFree billing allows customers to get their Entergy bill delivered directly to their email as soon as it posts.
• AutoPay allows customers to avoid late fees, writing checks and paying for postage by having their bill automatically deduct from their bank account.
• Pick-A-Day allows customers to take full control of their budget by paying their bill on the date that works best for them.
• Level Billing allows customers to keep their Entergy bill around the same amount each month.

More information on our enhanced programs and services to help residential customers, as well as customer resources and frequently asked questions, can be found at entergy.com/answers or by calling 1-800-ENTERGY.

The recently invited more than 50 business leaders to become champions for ALICE. The Arkansas AFN is the regional chapter of grantmakers who invest in opportunities for low- and middle-income individuals and families to build economic well-being. The business leaders were encouraged to join the network to help identify opportunities, reduce barriers and support the upward mobility of working Arkansans.��

Entergy Arkansas President & CEO Laura Landreaux shared with the group how Entergy Arkansas supports ALICE and why other businesses should, too. during the event, she shared the following regarding the importance of getting involved.

“Research indicates 46 percent of working households in Arkansas are ALICE. Many of these individuals and their families are Entergy customers and also our neighbors. They are in every county in the state, represent all colors and races, and include families with young children and older adults and every age in between. ALICE applies to both families and single individuals.

This statistic means that nearly half of working households in Arkansas live paycheck to paycheck and are often forced to decide between food, childcare, reliable transportation, rent and utilities and healthcare.

ALICE employees are typically in hourly positions and fulfill essential roles in our communities, such as hospitality, retail, manufacturing, construction, childcare, healthcare and more. In fact, 60 percent of Arkansans work hourly jobs.

Unfortunately, hourly wages have not kept pace with inflation and the cost of household necessities, and the pandemic has only exacerbated the financial strain on hardworking Arkansans.

Since the pandemic started in the spring of 2020, the price of everyday essentials like milk, bacon, and eggs have risen in some areas by 40 percent.

Arkansas needs ALICE workers, and ALICE needs your help. If we want businesses to grow and the Arkansas economy to thrive, investing in ALICE is essential for success. That’s why it’s time to focus on ALICE.

The basic cost of living per year in Arkansas is $46,000 for a family of four and $18,000 for a single adult. This is much higher than Federal Poverty Line estimates, which are $25,000 for a family of 4 and $12,000 for a single adult.

Studies have shown that if ALICE families in Arkansas met the minimum Household Survival Budget, they would be able to spend an additional $884 million dollars on food, $337 million dollars on entertainment, and $210 million dollars on apparel with businesses like yours.����

Entergy is proud to be a champion for ALICE. As an employer, Entergy Arkansas supports ALICE through our commitment to providing living wages and generous benefits to our employees; quality health insurance for employees and their spouses, partners and children; and parental leave for mothers AND fathers. We also support ALICE through our charitable foundation and partnership with non-profit agencies to connect our customers to funds available for utility assistance.

Reliable research is necessary for effective policy, programs and engagement. That’s why Entergy co-funded the ALICE in Arkansas report. The study identified the minimum income required to support a household in each county of the state.

The research is clear – when ALICE families prosper, all of Arkansas prospers.

I challenge you – the business owners, community leaders, and influencers throughout the state – to become an Ally for ALICE. You can join the movement and find ways to help .”

Things that come in threes are typically better, funnier or more dramatic, but the “Rule of Three” took a nasty turn this year, with Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Zeta lashing Louisiana in rapid succession.

It takes a minimum of three to make a pattern or greater impression, and examples can be found in many things, from art and religion to marketing and science. And this year, nature made quite an impact with the three hurricanes. Lake Charles took a direct hit in late August from Category 4 Laura, which decimated the grid as it destroyed property and took lives, and Delta and Zeta came through in October to pummel the state again.

However, one crew out of Arkansas has had quite an effect over the course of the three storms, working 16-hour days to repair, rebuild and restore power safely to those in Louisiana able to receive it. Michael Mixon estimates his crew of 10 from Pike Electric out of Texarkana, Arkansas, have spent about 10 weeks in Louisiana for Entergy so far this season.

“In nearly 25 years in the field, I haven’t worked the same area three times in one year,” said Mixon. “We normally work on grid maintenance for our local cooperative, but we are always ready to support restoration efforts outside our service area when needed. Usually we work in Florida, but this has been an unusually rough hurricane season that hit hard.”

The crew was positioned in New Orleans with four bucket trucks and two line trucks hours before Hurricane Zeta hit the coast as a Category 2 – just 1 mph shy of a Category 3 storm – the last week of October. They were part of restoration, which caused outages for 481,000 Louisiana customers.

While ���ϳԹ���’s operating companies in Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana are mobilized to assist in their service territories, there is often the need for more help. Contractors like Pike Electric are part of a mutual-assistance agreement where utility crews are moved around the country to help restore power following disasters. Mixon’s crew and others from Pike were positioned early and nearby in preparation for the last of five named hurricanes to hit the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, with three dealing majors blows to the transmission and distribution lines and thousands of power poles.

With a current workforce of nearly 6,100, including Entergy employees and help from other electric companies and contractors, Entergy shared for all who are able to receive it within the coming week – focusing on essential services and getting the greatest number of customers online at a time – with many coming online sooner.

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“Some of our customers may be wondering whether the California experience of rolling brownouts this summer could happen in Arkansas, especially since we are adding more solar resources,” said Kurt Castleberry, director of resource planning and market operations. ��“We are here to assure you that our resource planning efforts are heavily focused on ensuring that we have multiple sources of power upon which we can rely.”

Entergy Arkansas has a robust Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which takes into consideration all reasonable resources for meeting customers’ needs, including those which focus on both traditional and green energy sources, along with management of supply and demand. The current 20-year IRP looks at statistics, energy efficiency, industrial versus residential usage and many more metrics to forecast how we are able to continue providing energy in appropriate ways. The IRP is regularly updated and revised based on revised models, stakeholder engagement and analytics.

“The bottom line is that a diversified portfolio of resource types and fuels generated within the state allow Entergy Arkansas to provide cost effective, economic and reliable service to our customers,” Castleberry said.

How does Entergy Arkansas generate power and by what means? The chart below indicates the percentage division of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, hydro and demand response sources dedicated by category now through 2023. (Note – Entergy Arkansas is phasing out coal production by .)��

In addition to having a diversified portfolio, Entergy Arkansas is also well-positioned with most of its generation physically located in the state along with its partnership with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), an independent, not-for-profit organization that delivers safe, cost-effective electric power across 15 U.S. states and parts of Canada, in case more power is needed in an emergency situation.

While Entergy Arkansas is the largest provider of solar power within the state, our customers can rest assured the company will continue to power life to the best of our ability with a strategic mix of sources.