Electricity Rates in Louisiana

Of the 34 electric companies in Louisiana, 19 of them report that they offer net metering. The state has bad net metering and feed in tariffs that make solar and other alternative types of electricity generation more realistic.

The average energy loss for electricity companies in Louisiana is 2.69%. This includes data from 16 companies, including Entergy Louisiana, CLECO Power, and Entergy New Orleans. For comparison, the national average electricity loss is 2.76%. Louisiana has a rank of 18th best in the United States for grid efficiency based on energy loss.

Encouraging private citizens to install solar panels can be a challenge due to prohibitive initial costs. States can help the cause by passing legislation for tax breaks and rebates for those who purchase solar panels. Louisiana currently offers no state tax credit to consumers who install solar panels at their place of residence. The state offers no rebates to residents who are purchasing private solar. Louisiana citizens have the ability to apply a 100% property tax exemption for the purchase of solar panels, which is as good as it gets. There is currently no sales tax exemption for residents who purchase private solar.

Whether a customer is able to seek out electricity options with renewable fuels is at least partially determined by state level legislation. States that have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) have requirements in place for electricity providers who do business in the state. These standards dictate that a certain amount of electricity must be produced from green energy. Unfortunately, the state of Louisiana has no standards in place at this time. Additionally, the state does not have any sort of low income solar programs that assist with the installation of solar panels at low income households.