Entergy 2013 Annual Report Download - page 38

Generation
In 2013, Entergy team
members at the Grand Gulf
Nuclear Station in Mississippi
earned the Operate Plant – Top
Industry Practice award from
the Nuclear Energy Institute for
their water filtration innovation.
Following the collapse of a
contractor’s crane while moving
a generator stator at ANO Unit 1,
a major restoration effort
involving ANO and Entergy
employees, retirees, multiple
third-party experts and others
was completed.
Construction continued
on Ninemile Point Unit 6, a
550-megawatt combined-cycle
gas turbine unit at an existing
site in Louisiana. Commercial
operation is expected to begin
in the first part of 2015
(currently ahead of schedule).
In 2013, we made the decision
to retire 13 fossil generating
units, continuing the
modernization of our
generation portfolio.
We have identified and plan
to pursue approximately $1.9
billion in generation investment
over the 2014–2016 period.
Distribution
We use targeted circuit
maintenance and tree trimming
as two of our tools to improve
reliability. Our vegetation
management programs are
a key factor in our reliability
performance. In addition, we
are taking advantage of new
and emerging technology
to reduce outages and
their duration.
Entergy is recognized as an
industry leader in emergency
preparedness and response,
which we view as a key
component of reliability.
Entergy Arkansas quickly and
effectively restored power to
customers following significant
winter weather events in 2013.
We have identified and plan
to pursue approximately
$1.7 billion in distribution
investment over the
2014–2016 period.
Transmission
We transferred functional
control of our transmission
system on Dec. 19, 2013, to
MISO, a regional transmission
organization serving all or parts
of 15 U.S. states and Manitoba,
Canada. More than 600
employees spent more than
239,000 hours over the past
three years planning for and
executing the transfer to MISO.
The move is projected to
generate approximately
$1.4 billion in customer
savings in the first 10 years.
We have identified and plan
to pursue approximately
$1.7 billion in transmission
investment over the
2014–2016 period.
Customer Platforms
Entergy utilities offer energy
efficiency programs to help
customers better manage their
energy usage. While these
programs reduce revenues for
our utilities, they also reduce
emissions and can lower
customer energy bills.
A number of our customers
in New Orleans as well as
customers in other areas of
Louisiana have installed rooftop
solar systems. Net metering
can shift a greater proportion
of fixed costs of infrastructure
to customers who do not
participate in net metering.
We are monitoring the costs
and benefits of these types
of programs and assessing
regulatory constructs to
address issues related to
net metering.
Entergy Corporation 2013 INTEGRATED REPORT 37
ECONOMIC
Providing Service to Our Customers
Utility: Operational Performance Management
Excellent operational performance management is
the driving force behind our ability to consistently
provide safe, secure, reliable power at reasonable
cost. Our employees’ focus on operational
excellence delivered solid results for our
stakeholders in 2013.
2013 HIGHLIGHTS: UTILITY BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1.66 1.66 1.61 1.68 1.52
OUTAGE FREQUENCY
System average interruption frequency index;
average number per customer per year, excluding
the impact of major storm activity
182 185 196 196 181
OUTAGE DURATION
System average interruption duration index;
average minutes per customer per year, excluding
the impact of major storm activity
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013