Working on an Entergy Louisiana account here in Lake Charles and found what looks like a significant billing error. Client has a 3.2MW petrochemical facility served at 13.2kV primary voltage with their own substation and transformers. They're being billed on Schedule LGS-P (primary service) but the meter readings suggest secondary voltage metering. The monthly primary service discount is about $18,000, but if they're actually being metered on the secondary side, they're paying for transformer losses twice. Entergy's customer service rep claims the metering is correct, but I'm not convinced. Has anyone else seen questionable metering setups with Entergy Louisiana's primary service accounts?
Entergy Louisiana Primary Service Metering Discrepancy
Estelle, I haven't worked with Entergy Louisiana specifically, but we see similar issues with Dominion Energy here in Virginia. The key is determining where the revenue meter is located relative to the customer's transformation equipment. If you're truly on primary service, the meter should be upstream of your transformers measuring actual primary voltage. With a 3.2MW load, that metering discrepancy could be worth $30,000+ annually if you're right about the double-billing of losses. I'd request a formal metering diagram from Entergy showing the exact measurement points.
Faye's advice is solid. I deal with similar metering questions with Dominion Energy here in Charlottesville. The other thing to check is whether Entergy is applying the correct multiplier factors to the meter readings. Primary voltage metering typically requires different current transformer ratios and potential transformer ratios than secondary metering. If they're using secondary multipliers on primary metering (or vice versa), the billing could be significantly off. With petrochemical operations, the power quality and harmonic distortion can also affect meter accuracy at different voltage levels.
Estelle, Randy here from Memphis. I've worked with several Entergy subsidiaries and their metering practices can be inconsistent between territories. Louisiana has some unique industrial rate structures that make these primary/secondary classifications particularly important for large petrochemical accounts. Your $18,000/month discount suggests they're definitely billing you as primary service, but Gerald's point about multiplier factors is crucial. I'd also recommend getting an independent power quality study done - sometimes harmonics from industrial processes can cause metering errors that compound the primary/secondary issue. Document everything carefully because Entergy can be challenging to deal with on billing disputes.