Entergy Corporation Overcharged Customers

A federal judge says Entergy Corporation overcharged customers in four states--including Louisiana--by the manner in which it bought electricity. Entergy spokesman Michael Burns says the utility giant did nothing improper and will contest the judge's finding. The ruling was made by an administrative law judge for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). His ruling requires Entergy's shareholders to repay overcharges to Entergy's subsidiary companies - then refund customers who ultimately paid those alleged overcharges on monthly bills. Burns says Entergy will fight it. Burns says the matter is complicated--having a lot to do with interpretation of contract language between Entergy subsidiaries and energy providers. He says fighting the ruling could take months. (Nearly 3 million Entergy customers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas would be due refunds, if the ruling stands.)