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If you’re an Entergy natural gas customer, you may have received an email recently letting you know that Delta Utilities is set to become your new natural gas provider.
That’s because Entergy’s sale of its Baton Rouge and New Orleans natural gas distribution networks to Delta Utilities received final approval in late February when the Metro Council signed off on it and approved the transfer of Entergy’s natural gas franchise rights within Baton Rouge. The sale, which was first proposed in October 2023, had already been approved by the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the New Orleans City Council.
Delta Utilities is a portfolio company of Bernhard Capital Partners, a Baton Rouge private equity firm that’s investing heavily in the realm of infrastructure. The company is headquartered in New Orleans.
Entergy Louisiana’s natural gas business serves about 95,000 homes and businesses in the Baton Rouge area, while Entergy New Orleans’ natural gas business serves some 109,000 homes and businesses in New Orleans. Customers can expect the switchover to Delta Utilities to take place in late summer.
The sale will allow Entergy to “sharpen its focus on the regulated electric utility business,” according to a statement from Chip Arnould, Entergy’s director of gas distribution.
No action is required by customers at this time. Entergy and Delta Utilities say they will provide updates to all affected customers in the coming months.
On the issue of cost, Entergy is assuring natural gas customers that rates will remain the same during the transition to Delta Utilities and that Delta Utilities will continue to follow the rate structure already in place. Any future rate changes from Delta Utilities will “require regulatory approval through the same processes Entergy follows today,” Entergy says.
