This has been the hottest Louisiana summer since 2000. The heatwave resulted in customers using record-breaking amounts of electricity, and Cleco set a new all-time summer peak meaning customers used more electricity than any previous time in the company’s history.

Average electricity usage in August of this year was up approximately 35% compared to the same time last year. While customers used considerably more electricity than normal, August 2023 bills either decreased or remained stable compared to August 2022 bills due to a 58% drop in fuel prices and Cleco’s strong operational performance. Cleco employees were resilient as they maintained our generation, transmission and distribution systems during the sweltering heat.

Working with the Louisiana Public Service Commission, first responders and state and local officials, our employees also safeguarded these systems from the unprecedented wildfires that started in late August and remain a threat due to severe drought conditions across the state. To protect our customers and communities, Cleco disabled its automatic restoration equipment in high-risk areas and began manually patrolling lines to assess the cause of outages before restoring power. Cleco will continue to monitor the wildfire threat and statewide burn ban while safely returning to normal operations.

For customers needing assistance with bills due to the extremely high summer temperatures, help is available. Cleco offers payment plans, Budget Billing and Unite Us, as well as programs to help customers manage their energy usage like the daily usage alert feature in MyAccount and the Power Wise Energy Efficiency Program. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program also is available to customers who qualify. For more information on these programs, visit our Customer Assistance Programs page on www.cleco.com. 

As an essential service provider, Cleco is committed to protecting you and your power and balancing reliability and sustainability with affordability.