NEW ORLEANS, March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort
to help working families experiencing financial hardships as a
result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Entergy Charitable
Foundation has established the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund.
"The health and safety of our customers, employees and
communities is Entergy's top priority," said Leo Denault, chairman and CEO of Entergy
Corporation. "For more than 100 years, Entergy has never wavered in
our commitment to supporting our customers and the communities we
serve. This pandemic is no different. During this challenging time,
we are helping lessen the impact of this crisis on the most
vulnerable in our communities. I strongly encourage our business
partners to join us in this effort."
As devastating and disruptive as this crisis is for everyone, we
know from past experience that those most heavily impacted are
ALICE households (low-wage working families) and low-income elderly
and disabled customers – roughly 40%-50% of Entergy's customer
base.
"We know from experience that working families and low-income
elderly and disabled customers are hardest hit during times of
crisis," said Patty Riddlebarger,
vice president of Entergy's corporate social responsibility. "We
are working quickly to make funds available to community partners
that serve vulnerable households to lessen the economic impact of
the COVID-19 crisis and ensure that families have the resources
they need to get by during this time of uncertainty."
To support our most vulnerable customers, Entergy shareholders
are committing $700,000 to the
COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to help qualifying customers with
basic needs such as food and nutrition, rent and mortgage
assistance, and other critical needs until financial situations
become more stable. Grants from the fund will be provided to United
Way organizations and other nonprofit partners across Entergy's
service area that are providing services to impacted
households.
Company shareholders will also match employee contributions to
the COVID-19 relief efforts of local United Way organizations up to
$100,000 to maximize impact.
In addition to establishing the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund,
Entergy is taking additional steps to support and protect our
customers during this crisis, including:
- With support from our regulators, we are temporarily suspending
customer disconnects as we continue to monitor the situation.
- We are working with our network of community advocates to
request a funding increase of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Program to help alleviate financial hardships caused by COVID-19 on
vulnerable households.
- We are developing bill payment solutions and tools to help
customers pay their accumulated balances once the disconnect
moratorium is lifted.
Already in place to support vulnerable customers is Entergy's
The Power to Care program, which provides emergency bill payment
assistance to seniors and disabled individuals. To mark the 20th
anniversary of Entergy's low-income customer initiative, the limit
of shareholders' dollar for dollar match of customer donations was
increased from $500,000 to
$1 million per year. Shareholders
continue to match employee donations dollar for dollar with no
limit.
More information about Entergy's COVID-19 preparations and
response can be found at entergy.com/coronavirus.
About Entergy Corporation
Entergy Corporation (NYSE:
ETR) is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric
power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns
and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of
electric generating capacity, including 9,000 megawatts of nuclear
power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility
customers in Arkansas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of
$11 billion and approximately 13,600
employees.
entergy.com
Twitter: @Entergy
Facebook: facebook.com/entergy
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SOURCE Entergy Corporation