Entergy 2013 Annual Report Download - page 39

Entergy Corporation 2013 INTEGRATED REPORT 38
ECONOMIC
Providing Service to Our Customers
“Our residential
customers viewed us
more favorably in 2013
than the year before.
According to the
American Customer
Satisfaction Index
benchmark study,
the percent reporting
favorable views grew
by 12 points to
78 percent.”
EARNING A FAIR RETURN
We engage on a regular basis with our federal, state and local regulators to ensure the
constructs that regulate our utilities effectively match our cost structure, investment profile
and customer needs. In 2013, we filed rates cases in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Orleans and
Texas, and made formula rate plan filings in Mississippi. We received Louisiana Public Service
Commission approval of a constructive settlement in Louisiana. In Arkansas, we were granted
rehearing of the Arkansas Public Service Commission order, which included an allowed return
on equity well below the 10.4 percent we requested. In Mississippi, we received a formula
rate plan adjustment in 2013 related to the 2012 test year. We also resolved the 2011 test year
formula rate plan filing in New Orleans, resulting in a net $1.6 million decrease from pre-October
2012 rates. The Entergy Louisiana rate case for our 22,000 customers in New Orleans remains
pending before the City Council of New Orleans. And in Texas, settlement discussions are
in progress in the Entergy Texas rate case proceeding.
We took actions in 2013 through our human capital management initiative to restaff and
redesign our organization to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and lower costs. We also
joined MISO, which is projected to reduce customer costs by approximately $1.4 billion in the
first 10 years. By optimizing our cost structure for the long term, our utilities can better maintain
their rate advantage and have greater opportunity to earn their authorized returns on equity.
Utility: Customer Engagement and Experience
Our strong commitment to customers is demonstrated by continually evolving programs
and outreach efforts. We engage with customers in the normal course of business including
efforts related to issue resolution, online tools designed to help customers save money on their
energy bills and through consistent, proactive communication campaigns on specific issues of
importance to our stakeholders.
Our residential customers viewed us more favorably in 2013 than the year before. According to
the American Customer Satisfaction Index benchmark study, the percent reporting favorable
views grew by 12 points to 78 percent.
PROMOTING “SAVE ME MONEY”
In addition to offering residential rates that are among the lowest in the nation, we seek to
improve satisfaction by helping individual customers save on their bills. In 2013, we conducted
campaigns using television, radio and digital media, including online and mobile advertising,
to promote Entergy’s Save Me Money online tools. Online ads ran throughout the year,
and television ads ran in two waves in the spring and fall.
We launched our first electronic newsletter, Solutions Plus, in mid-2012. In 2013, more
than 1.4 million customers opened the newsletter with an average open rate of 25 percent,
compared to the industry best-in-class average of 17 percent. Articles focus on quick-read
money-saving tips and tools available to reduce customer bills. The newsletter includes links
to Entergy’s Save Me Money and myAccount Web pages. Customers can also access Entergy’s
energy efficiency programs: Entergy Solutions in Entergy Texas and Entergy Arkansas and
Energy Smart in Entergy New Orleans. Another electronic newsletter, Powerful Solutions,
is available for small business and managed account customers.
LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA
We are aggressive about finding innovative, effective means of engaging with customers,
particularly in light of rapidly changing communication technologies. We worked extensively in
2013 to improve our emergency response communications by acting on customer feedback. As
a result, we now can more effectively provide power restoration updates via social media, text
messaging and proactive phone messaging following major outages. These tools enhance our
ability to communicate through traditional avenues such as entergy.com, bill inserts and radio
and television broadcasting. More information on our outage communications is available in the
Emergency Preparedness and Response section of this report. We use social media to
engage customers in multiple ways. For example, Entergy Texas held a summer Facebook
contest in 2013 called Chill Your Bill. The contest was designed to educate customers on
resources available to become more energy efficient and save on their utility bills. Two winners
received new energy-efficient central air conditioning units, provided and installed courtesy of
Entergy Solutions, Entergy Texas’ energy efficiency program.