LIHEAP is a federal program that helps our low-income residents manage their heating and cooling costs when they experience unexpected hardships. However, only a small percentage of families who qualify for LIHEAP in our four-state service territory receive assistance. With underfunding and a practice that diverts funds to cold-weather states, millions of dollars are taken from warm-weather state customers in need and some of approximately 25% of Entergy customers who live in poverty.

According to 2017 data from the :

• Of the 336,480 households that qualified for LIHEAP in Arkansas, only 25% received assistance
• Of the 609,045 households that qualified for LIHEAP in Louisiana, only 11% received assistance
• Of the 360,762 households that qualified for LIHEAP in Mississippi, only 11% received assistance
• Of the 2.6 million households that qualified for LIHEAP in Texas, only 5% received assistance

We are taking action during LIHEAP Action Month

Earlier this year, Entergy employees and community partners traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with congressional leaders and ask for better support of the program during LIHEAP Action Day. Now, through the end of August, Entergy representatives and partners, will visit congressional offices in our service area of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to advocate for better funding. They will also request that additional funds go to states that are not receiving their fair share.

Last year, Congress provided a $300 million increase for LIHEAP funding nationwide and addressed the longstanding funding issue to send more dollars to Entergy customers. Unfortunately, there is still a large population of customers who need assistance, especially when the frequency of severe weather continues to escalate, causing heating and cooling costs to increase beyond the means of our low-income neighbors.

Entergy believes that fighting poverty and helping to create lasting economic solutions to customers in need is a moral obligation and business imperative. You can help advocate for our low-income customers by urging your elected officials to protect LIHEAP and by donating to Entergy’s The Power to Care program. This program provides emergency bill payment assistance to our elderly and disabled customers in need. Customer and employee donations help fill in the gaps left by LIHEAP and offers one-time bill payment assistance to neighbors in need. All Power to Care contributions will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Entergy’s shareholders, doubling the impact of your generous donation.

For more information about LIHEAP, please .

LIHEAP is a federal program that helps reduce the burden of home energy costs for an estimated 6 million households. The program is literally a lifesaver for many, as increasingly severe temperatures can threaten the health and welfare of the approximately 25 percent of Entergy customers who live in poverty.

But only a fraction of families who qualify actually receive assistance through LIHEAP. The program is drastically underfunded, and a program earmark favors relief for heating costs in cold-weather states and diverts millions of dollars away from needy customers in warm-weather states, including the four states Entergy serves.

In the meantime, the population of customers who need help remains high while severe weather conditions and frequency escalate, often pushing electricity bills beyond the means of low-income customers.

Last year, thanks to Entergy employees’ and community partners’ continued advocacy, Congress provided a $300 million increase for LIHEAP nationally – growing the program from $3.39 billion to $3.69 billion. More importantly, it began addressing the longstanding funding formula issue to send more dollars to Entergy’s customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Orleans, and Texas.

Last year’s increased funding of LIHEAP allowed Entergy to serve almost 4,500 additional households – making a big impact on our community. Another 13,000 bills were paid through Entergy’s The Power to Care program, which helps low-income, elderly or disabled customer pay their energy bills in times of financial distress. Entergy’s advocates on Capitol Hill discussed the need to continue building on last year’s momentum so that Entergy can continue to serve even more customers in need.

This lifesaving program steps in when people fall on hard times. LIHEAP is there to help people in emergency situations. LIHEAP is not an ongoing entitlement program, but it’s something that people need to get them over a hurdle, so they can continue with their lives.

You can help by urging your elected officials to protect LIHEAP and by donating here to the Entergy’s customer assistance program, The Power to Care. When you donate, your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the company’s shareholders. Contributions by Entergy’s customers, employees and shareholders help fill in the gaps left by LIHEAP by offering one-time bill payment assistance to neighbors in need.

For more information about LIHEAP assistance, please visit entergy.com.

Liz Brister, manager of Entergy’s low-income programs, is a lifelong community advocate and serves on the board of the National ���ϳԹ��� & Utility Affordability Coalition that organizes LIHEAP Action Day.

Entergy is not H&R Block or TurboTax. So why would a utility company be in the tax preparation business?

That’s right. Entergy is offering qualified customers help with their taxes. For free.

That’s because at Entergy, our vision of “We Power Life” means we are working together to improve lives, create opportunities, strengthen communities and proactively find solutions to life’s challenges.

Some of the most disadvantaged but hard-working people in the country live in our service area of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. This tax season, many of them will be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit – a benefit for working people with low to moderate income – but they aren’t aware of it. With an average refund of $2,500, the EITC has the power to help lift these people out of poverty. In fact, the tax credit helped 5.8 million people, including 3 million children, out of poverty in 2016 and made 18.7 million people less poor.

One out of five families who qualify for this extra tax refund don’t claim it. So, it seemed logical to us to help five out of five families claim the money they have earned. This is a direct way Entergy helps improve the lives of our customers and the economic health of our communities.

EITC is one of the nation’s most effective means of lifting Americans out of poverty – providing additional income and boosting employment for low-income workers.

Hardworking Americans use the EITC to pay their monthly bills, build credit, save for a down payment on a home, pursue education or save for unexpected expenses like a leaky roof, a flat tire or medical costs. The tax credit has proven to provide a necessary economic ladder that helps families advance to the next level, so that maybe one day they’ll be able to take that fancy vacation, too. Roughly one-third of EITC-eligible taxpayers achieves higher income levels the following year, but new families continue to qualify for the help that the tax credit provides.

2019 marks Entergy’s 10th year of promoting the EITC and sponsoring free tax preparation sites throughout our service territory. We have trained and placed hundreds of employee volunteers in communities throughout our four-state region. Entergy provides about a half million dollars in grants to local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites annually.

In all, Entergy has helped approximately 127,000 customers receive $224 million through the EITC program since 2011. The company has received national recognition by the U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation for implementing the best economic empowerment program in the country.

Free tax preparation services are provided at VITA sites throughout the 2019 tax season. In some VITA locations, local community partners are offering scheduled appointments for tax preparation services, drop-off tax prep services, financial coaching, budget workshops, free legal services and more.

For more information on Entergy’s Super Tax Day and VITA and to see if you or someone you know qualifies, visit entergy.com/freetaxhelp.

$250 million in additional funding will soon be added to America’s Low Income Home ���ϳԹ��� Assistance Program. This potential benefit for Entergy customers reflects a multi-year campaign by Entergy employees and advocacy partners to convince Congress to save, sustain and better fund the program.   

The campaign includes annual visits with members of Congress as part of LIHEAP Action Days in Washington, D.C., an initiative Entergy has supported through participation and promotion since 2007.

LIHEAP is a critical service that helps low-income households afford heating and cooling costs. The program is literally a lifesaver for many, as increasingly severe temperatures threaten the health and welfare of the approximately 25 percent of Entergy customers who live in poverty. 

Last year almost 220,000 Entergy bills were paid with LIHEAP funds. Another 13,000 bills were paid through the company’s assistance fund, The Power to Care.

Shannon Thomas – a U.S. Army veteran from Mississippi and LIHEAP recipient – participated with advocates in meetings with Members of Congress and their staffs. He described overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and recognizing the opportunity LIHEAP provided, which helped him stay in school to begin a new career. Shannon also shares his compelling story here:

LIHEAP’s additional funding represents a 7 percent increase for the program, the largest increase since 2009. It also represents a significant accomplishment by Entergy and other advocates, as the program was proposed for elimination this year and last. In addition, Entergy and its partners played a critical role in helping change the LIHEAP funding formula. Now more money will be available to residents in warm-weather and high-energy-burden states than previously distributed. The states served by Entergy’s utility companies – Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas – are likely to receive significant increases.

ARKANSAS: Entergy Arkansas representatives and customer advocates met with Senator John Boozman on LIHEAP Action Day in Washington, D.C., to encourage support for LIHEAP. Currently, only 25 percent of eligible Arkansas customers are able to receive LIHEAP assistance because of depleted funding.

������������������:��Participants in LIHEAP Action Day in Washington, D.C., included (from left) Kristin Masoner, senior customer service specialist, Entergy Louisiana; Wallace Sibley, Quad Area Community Action Partnership; Rosie Brown, East Carrol Community Action Partnership; Demetric Mercadel, senior customer service specialist, Entergy New Orleans; U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy; and Patty Riddlebarger, corporate social responsibility director, Entergy.

MISSISSIPPI: Entergy Mississippi and Atmos ���ϳԹ��� representatives and customer advocates met with Rep. Gregg Harper on LIHEAP Action Day in Washington, D.C., to encourage support for LIHEAP. Currently, only 12 percent of eligible Mississippi customers are able to receive LIHEAP assistance because of depleted funding.

TEXAS: Participants in LIHEAP Action Day in Washington, D.C. included (from left) Ben Portis, director of federal governmental affairs, Entergy; Ryland Ramos, senior analyst, regulatory and public affairs, Entergy Texas; Ben Couhig, legislative director for Rep. Brian Babin; and Liz Brister, corporate social responsibility manager, Entergy. ​

On March 12-13, Entergy representatives and community partners are visiting Washington, D.C., during s to meet in person with our congressional delegates and ask for better funding. 

LIHEAP is a critical service that helps low-income residents manage heating and cooling costs. The program is literally a lifesaver for many, as increasingly severe temperatures can threaten the health and welfare of the approximately 25 percent of Entergy customers who live in poverty.

Here is how LIHEAP works: It serves as a bridge OVER financial gaps low-income residents may be experiencing due to unexpected hardships.

It also serves as a bridge TO better lives for recipients. Javone, an Entergy customer featured in the video, is a good example. LIHEAP helped her cover basic needs for her family so she could focus on providing them a better future by pursuing a nursing degree.

Javone’s story – and Shannon’s and Lois’s and so many others – reflect the struggle of real people. Their households are among the nearly four million in states served by Entergy’s utility companies that qualify for LIHEAP.

But only a fraction of families who qualify actually receive assistance through LIHEAP. The program is drastically underfunded, and program earmarks that favor relief for heating costs in cold-weather states divert millions of dollars away from needy customers in warm-weather states.

In the meantime, the population of customers who need help remains high while severe weather conditions and frequency escalate, often pushing electricity bills beyond the means of low-income customers.

In Washington we will share stories like those of Shannon, Javone and Lois with members of Congress, so they can see the transformative impact of LIHEAP on real people. Our objective is to move members to better fund LIHEAP.

You can help. Encourage our representatives in Washington to TAKE ACTION and better fund LIHEAP by adding your organization’s name to a letter of support .

You can also donate here to Entergy’s own customer assistance program, The Power to Care.  Contributions by customers, employees and Entergy shareholders help fill in the gaps left by LIHEAP by offering one-time bill payment assistance to neighbors in need.

Liz Brister, manager of Entergy’s low-income programs, is a lifelong community advocate and serves on the board of the National ���ϳԹ��� & Utility Affordability Coalition that organizes LIHEAP Action Day.

During Entergy’s Super Tax Day events, we met a customer whose financial well-being was drastically affected by the 2016 floods in Louisiana. Volunteers at the Capital Area United Way in Baton Rouge helped her receive a tax refund that was about $800 more than the estimated refund she had received earlier from a paid tax preparer. She also saved $200 in processing fees.

How? She filed her taxes for free at a local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site and ensured she claimed the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). EITC helps put money back in the pockets of working families making $54,000 or less annually.

Multiply this true story by hundreds of Entergy-sponsored VITA sites, thousands of tax filers working to make ends meet, millions in EITC refunds, and enhanced financial  counseling and savings programs provided through Entergy’s VITA Plus program, and you can begin to understand how We Power Life for working families struggling to improve their lives.

More than 18,900 local residents of Entergy-served communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas received free tax prep and more than $35 million in EITC refunds in 2016.  

“The Earned Income Tax Credit is the most successful poverty-alleviating tool in the United States, and Entergy’s work to ensure customers benefit is part of a bigger picture of helping people gain economic security,” said Liz Brister, manager of Entergy’s low-income program portfolio.

In addition to free tax services, the company launched VITA Plus in 2015, offering additional financial support at some locations. “Entergy’s VITA Plus increases the impact of the EITC. It combines free tax prep plus other financial services and resources to help low-income families use their refunds to build wealth and become more self-sufficient,” Brister said.

For example, Little Rock-based Southern Bancorp Community Partners offers a year-round matched savings account program. The program helps local residents develop financial goals and convert tax credits and other savings into asset purchases such as a home.  A “Split, Save and Win” promotion provided prizes to those who chose to save any portion of their refund on the spot while filing taxes at a VITA site.  Partnering with Arkansas Access to Justice, legal clinics were also available at some VITA sites, helping protect customers’ assets for the next generation.

Success stories for Entergy-sponsored EITC and VITA programming abound. In New Orleans, one participant in the United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s matched savings program received a year of intensive financial coaching and saved enough money to purchase a home last March. She has developed a pattern for saving and her credit scores have increased by 50 points. In addition to being grateful, she says she better understands the importance of taking care of her finances now in order to be more financially stable in the future.

To date, more than 1,200 low income families and individuals have received financial coaching, credit counseling, pro bono legal aid and goal-setting support toward asset development and home ownership through VITA Plus. Another 590 have enrolled in matched savings programs, 328 of whom have already reached their savings goals. Like the customer in New Orleans, 217 have bought a home. Others used their matched savings to start small businesses, seek education and job training or purchase transportation for work.

Entergy, our employees and partners, EITC, VITA and VITA Plus are providing powerful means for improving the everyday lives of hard-working customers. Learn more at ��.

This week, I am honored to travel to Washington, D.C., as part of Action Day for America’s Low Income Home ���ϳԹ��� Assistance Program. During these face-to-face meetings with well-known congressmen, senators and staffers, it will be the little-known and often overlooked faces of James, Beulah and Heather I will have in mind. While their names are not real, their daily struggle is. Their households are among the nearly four million in states served by Entergy’s utility companies that qualify for LIHEAP.

LIHEAP is a critical service that helps low-income residents manage heating and cooling costs. The program is literally a lifesaver for many, as increasingly severe temperatures can threaten the health and welfare of the 25 percent of Entergy customers who live in poverty. 

Brister and Entergy’s Brady Aldy (right) met with U.S. Representative Bruce Westerman, Arkansas.

Today, only a fraction of families who qualify actually receive assistance through LIHEAP. The program has been drastically underfunded in recent years while the eligible population grows, weather conditions become more severe and utility bills are pushed beyond the means of low-income customers.

Through in-person meetings this week during LIHEAP Action Day, our coalition of Entergy representatives and local community advocates will encourage our legislators to turn the tide on LIHEAP by increasing funding and ensuring residents in the states with the highest rates of poverty receive their fair share of support.

Our advocacy for LIHEAP is one of the many ways Entergy helps power life for low-income customers through a wide range of community improvement programs. Our own energy assistance fund, The Power to Care, makes emergency bill payments for nearly 15,000 qualifying customers annually. The Power to Care is funded through the charitable donations of our customers, employees and owners.

My hope is that by sharing the stories of James, Beulah and Heather this week with legislators, I will help put a face on a very real need that LIHEAP can so easily relieve if fully and fairly funded.

You can help. Encourage our congressional delegation to action by adding your organization’s name to a letter of support . If you’d like to also help your neighbors in need through Entergy’s The Power to Care, contributions can be made here.

Liz Brister, manager of Entergy’s low-income programs, is a lifelong community advocate and serves on the board of the National ���ϳԹ��� & Utility Affordability Coalition that organizes LIHEAP Action Day.