Entergy Louisiana expands mobile services offered to customers

Baton Rouge, La. – Busy customers of Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. now have an easier way to manage their utility accounts.

The companies have added new functions for texting cell phones and smart phones that can access the Internet. The new features join those available since the company first offered online transactions in 2008 and texting services last year.

“Customers can use their cell phones to do so much more and quickly,” said Steven Scheurich, vice president of customer service for Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. “No waiting to talk with a representative or visiting a quick payment center, no need to use a computer – My Account Anywhere truly offers fast, convenient service.”

New Texting Services

The Entergy companies have added these features to My Account Anywhere for customers who have texting cell phones:

• BAL (see the account number, QPC number, balance, due date, last payment amount, and if applicable, past due amount, disconnect status and reconnect amount).
• EXT (request an extension of a few days for the due date of a bill. Limitations apply).
• ORDER (check the status of a recent work order or permit for a Entergy Louisiana account).
• INFO (see information about new services and latest updates).

To use My Account Anywhere, customers must register a texting cell phone number to their Entergy electricity account. Registration is simple. From any texting cell phone, they send the message “REG” (without quotes) to 368374. The system will respond and ask for their ZIP code and Entergy account number.

To save even more time, customers can save the number 368374 on their phones with a simple name such as “Entergy.” They will be able to text quickly without having to remember a number.

Customers registered for My Account Online, the company’s Internet-based account management service, also can register their cell phone online.

Depending on their wireless plans, customers may be charged for text messages associated with My Account Anywhere. Detailed information is available on entergy-louisiana.com.

Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana first offered the texting service for outages last October, so customers could report, request and receive information about power outages at their home or business.

In addition to the new features announced today, customers can use the My Account Anywhere functions listed below to interact with the company:

• REG (to register an account and add additional accounts).
• OUT (to report an outage on an account).
• STAT (to request status on an outage for an account).
• HELP (to see all keyword commands available).
• NICK (to see all accounts and nicknames. To set up a nickname).
• CANCEL (to deregister an account from a cell phone).
• PAUSE (to temporarily turn off outage text messages to a cell phone).
• RESUME (to resume text messages to a cell phone after using the pause command).

“The system responds in just a few seconds,” said Scheurich. “It provides useful information very quickly.”

As a courtesy to My Account Anywhere customers, the Entergy companies have added new automatic alert messages to the power outage text notifications originally offered. Customers can manage all of the texting and e-mail alerts they receive from the company when updating account information on My Account Online.

The new automatic text alerts notify customers when:

• Their bill payment has been returned.
• A disconnect notice has been issued.
• Their service is about to be disconnected.

Customers registered for My Account Online also can choose to receive an alert when their payment is due and when their automatic payment exceeds the amount they specify.

New Smart Phone Services

In addition to the new texting features, Entergy now offers a mobile version of My Account Online. Registered customers who have a smart phone that can access the Internet have nearly all of the online features available in an easy-to-use format.

“Customers can conduct utility account transactions from anywhere on their smart phones, just like using a computer,” said Scheurich. Features include:

• See summary and detailed account information.
• Pay a bill.
• View scheduled payments and billing history.
• Change bill delivery options, change automatic bill payment settings and change Level Billing options.
• Donate to Power to Care.
• View outages at the customer’s location.

It’s quick for customers to register for My Account Online. They just go to entergy.com and select the “register” link near the top left of the page. They will need their account number and service location ZIP code.

The ability to update account information is unavailable through smart phones. Customers must make these changes, such as storing or updating bank information, passwords or mailing address, through the Internet version of My Account Online.

“These new features are among the best in the business,” added Scheurich, “and help make it easier for customers to do business with us.”

Entergy’s Louisiana utility companies serve more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are part of Entergy Corporation’s electric system serving 2.7 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

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