Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

Like so many millions of Americans, Charlene Kendrix went through a devastating winter storm February 14-20, 2021 where temperatures in some areas set new record lows. Along with the record-breaking temperatures, there was a tremendous push for electric power to heat millions of homes affected by the storm. One of the hardest states to suffer a loss of power was Texas, but Louisiana had its share of power-related issues too. Slightly higher utility bills were expected from the storm, but nothing like the kinds of increases in utility bills reported in Texas, where people have to pay bills that total thousands of dollars. A West Monroe woman said that her utility bill went up to what she said is astronomical compared to “normal” bills she has received in the past. Kendrix’s last bill was over three-times her normal rate, a far cry from the rate her utility bill would normally never exceed. Kendrix like so many who are on fixed incomes, know that they must budget their money, but also try to keep their utility bills down as much as possible by using the advice that utility companies tell their customers to use. Entergy, her utility company, had recently installed digital meters in Kendrix’s neighborhood, which she found out about only after inquiring about her high utility bill. Kendrix said that a representative told her at Entergy that the possible reason for her higher than normal bill may have been because of “wiring problems” where she lived. According to Kendrix, her landlord had the property checked, and everything was fine, leading Kendrix to believe that the issues were in Entergy’s billing procedure which had to be the cause of high bills.

Kendrix would find out that utility companies like Entergy are on systems where a person does not individually read meters anymore but now use the so-called system of “estimating” the amount of usage based on past usage. In other words, consumers like Kendrix believe that utility companies, with the help of politicians, allow those companies to charge whatever they want to regardless of the circumstances. Kendrix says that she sets her thermostat at 80 in the daytime and 70 at night. She said that during the recent storm, there were times when she was very cold in her home, all in an effort to use as little power as she could, as utility companies were advising customers to cut back on how much power they were using to warm their homes.

Like thousands of other customers, Kendrix is looking to her civic leaders, particularly those on the Public Service Commission to answer why utility bills are so high, but also what can be done. She said that she will contact her local/state representatives, as she and her neighbors are looking at high utility bills and wondering how they are going to pay them. They also hope that what happened to them is not the beginning of seeing higher bills in the future. Kendrix said that it is sad that people have to live like this. She believes that what is being done is not right, and it feels like utility companies are run by stockholders that are only concerned with making money. Recent public outcry shows that she is not alone.