By DEBORAH CORRAO / L’Observateur / April 25, 1999

LAPLACE – The recently appointed president and chief executive officer of Entergy of Louisiana said the goal of the utility company is to continue to be more “customer friendly.”Jerry Jackson, Entergy of Louisiana president, who spoke before the Rotary Club of LaPlace this week, said, “My personal objective is for Entergy of Louisiana to be the excellent company it has been in the past.

We intend to continue to build on our tradition of service to our community.”Last year Entergy sold off retail operations in Australia and London. Undernew senior leadership, according to Jackson, Entergy will focus now on its core electric utility business in the four-state area, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

With the prospect of deregulation looming on the horizon within the next few years, Jackson said, “As we prepare for competition we will be focusing more on our customers and improve by putting the decision- making closer to customers.”Jackson said Entergy has continuously reduced prices since the mid-80s.

Now, he said, Louisiana customers pay seven cents per kilowatt hour as compared to almost twice that much paid by electricity consumers in California and the New England states.

Jackson said Congress is taking a cautious approach now to deregulation.

He said there is some concern that, while deregulation may benefit the large industrial customers, it may be questionable whether it will be beneficial to residential customers.

Jackson said Entergy has traditionally looked at the bottom line for the communities it serves.

“We only do as well as the people in our communities,” he said. “If thepeople prosper, we will. If people don’t prosper, we won’t.”

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