NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / July 1, 2024 / Entergy Corporation
BY: JOHN HUDSON | SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
With a longstanding commitment to customer affordability, sustainability and social responsibility, Entergy is leading the industry toward a more sustainable and inclusive future. We know the time to invest in our energy infrastructure is now, and we're uniquely positioned to ensure equitable access to clean, reliable and affordable energy for everyone.
Not only do we serve communities with some of the highest poverty regions in the country - approximately 25% of Entergy's 3 million residential customers live at or below the poverty line - but our service area includes assets critical to our national economy and energy independence on a global scale. That's why we are leading the charge, calling on the entire industry to join us in seizing the generational federal funding opportunities created by legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to invest in not only more resilient energy infrastructure, but also more resilient communities.
Recently, Entergy joined other leaders at the 2024 American Association of Blacks in Energy National Conference to discuss how to move the energy sector forward to a clean and equitable future and share how we have successfully pursued - and are continuing to pursue - generational federal infrastructure funding opportunities to strengthen and modernize our electrical grid while providing vital investments in disadvantaged communities, improve the lives of our customers and power a brighter energy future for all.
Empowering more resilient communities
The clean energy transition presents a momentous opportunity for the energy industry to improve educational, economic and environmental outcomes in our service areas, and Entergy is setting the standard for how utilities can deliver these benefits equitably across our communities by addressing the roots of poverty through all facets of our business.
Our philanthropic and social responsibility efforts create millions of dollars of economic impact for our service areas each year, but our focus goes beyond just philanthropy, employee volunteerism, and helping our customers access financial assistance - we also provide resources and opportunities to make our communities more resilient by helping to lift families out of poverty through education and career opportunities while ensuring all members of our community have a voice in our energy future.
We are leveraging federal funding opportunities to further invest in a workforce that is prepared to support our region's growth while also reflecting the rich diversity of the communities we serve. We're committed to supporting educational outcomes in our communities through mutually beneficial partnerships with high schools, community colleges and universities, and industry trade associations on programs ranging from promoting interest in energy and STEM fields to technical training programs that produce graduates aligned with our future staffing needs.
We also partner with several organizations to provide scholarships for minority students pursuing higher education and vocational training, and we've revamped our entire approach to supporting historically Black colleges and universities, contributing more than $3.8 million since 2018 for facility and curriculum improvements, technology, scholarships, internship and mentoring programs and initiatives to support generational wealth building.
As we're helping to build the energy workforce of the future, we're also prioritizing the success and development of today's workforce through a robust workforce development program that engages historically marginalized populations in the energy industry through skills-based training, inclusive recruiting efforts, and employee retention and development programs. And we are upskilling fossil fuel workers to help them move into new clean energy jobs and transition their communities to a new, sustainable economic base with dignity.
We manage a spend portfolio of $5-$7 billion, which we use as yet another tool to foster equitable economic development in our service areas. Our supply chain and procurement program includes an emphasis on working with safe, qualified and competitive diverse and local suppliers that goes beyond transactions to coaching and mentorship to help them build relationships and understand how to capitalize on business opportunities to achieve their goals.
Building more resilient, sustainable infrastructure
While working to strengthen the economic foundations of our service areas, we are also fiercely committed to safeguarding customer affordability without compromising reliability or service. We are making strategic investments to modernize the electrical grid and make it more efficient and better able to withstand severe storms. We are proposing a $15 billion long-term plan to help reduce restoration costs and disruption risks from major storms, which could lower Gulf Coast region risk by 55%. By investing in power grid resilience today, we're strengthening our energy infrastructure to protect against tomorrow's stronger storms, reducing the cost of power restoration and minimizing outages.
As we spearhead grid resilience efforts in the industry, we also recognize the importance of ensuring our communities have access to clean, sustainable energy. At Entergy, this includes setting ambitious decarbonization targets, including a pledge to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. We are continuing to transition our generation fleet to low- to zero-carbon power to minimize the impact of the high level of anticipated industrial growth in our region and to help our customers meet their own sustainability goals.
Across all efforts, we are fighting for every dollar of federal and state funding available to allow us to accelerate these projects while keeping the cost to customers as low as possible. At the same time, we're working closely with local stakeholders as we develop projects and application to ensure our projects' community benefits plans are truly responsive to their needs. For funding opportunities beyond what we're eligible for as a utility, we're also partnering on state and regional projects and providing community organizations like HBCUs with letters of support for their applications and helping them navigate the complicated federal funding process.
The entire energy industry has a role to play in modernizing our energy infrastructure, and we have an obligation to ensure we are driving positive change for not only our industry, but for our communities and the entire nation. Entergy remains committed to powering more than just life - we are powering a brighter future for everyone.
Learn more about Entergy's progress in our latest performance report.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Entergy Corporation on 3blmedia.com.
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SOURCE: Entergy Corporation
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