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Arkansas Business dives into CWIP, cost to Entergy's ratepayers in Jefferson Power Station docket

October 6, 2025 | Jamie Moody, Communications Director

Arkansas Business dives into the Jefferson Power Station (JPS) docket this week, with two notable discussions: CWIP, and the project's impact on Entergy Arkansas' ratepayers.

This is a docket - Arkansas Public Service Commission Docket 25-047-U - that lends itself to questions, so let's dig into Arkansas Business' article's discussion pieces.

Entergy is asking their retail customers to bear 100% of the costs of JPS, which by their own calculations, will increase the average residential non-fuel charge on electric bills by $2.85. The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association's Executive Director Lauren Waldrip notes, "The PSC staff points out that for the project they're seeking to have approved, the costs are unknown, and that the utility didn't provide any benchmark against comparable projects. And the attorney general's office filing says the JPS will drive significant ratepayer impact."

More than 25 state officials have signed letters of support for JPS to the Arkansas PSC. Curious if your local representative local signed a letter of support for this project? Check out the PSC public comments section of the docket.
Should the permit for JPS be approved, it would be the first in the state to be paid for while it's being constructed. CWIP - or construction work in progress - allows utilities to let their ratepayers bear the burden of costs as construction goes along whereas previously they only paid after construction was complete. CWIP should only be applied when new projects are tied to strategic investments to attract "significant new economic development," which isn't the case with JPS, Simon Mahan wrote in the filing for the Southern Renewable Energy Association.

"[Entergy Arkansas] has known about the retirement of White Bluff for almost a decade, and has effectively waited until the last minute to announce public plans," he wrote. In fact, Mahan argues that JPS fails the Act 373 standard of being reasonable, necessary, and in the public interest, and that the application should be pursued through normal regulatory channels, not the expedited process granted under Act 373.

Next steps in the procedural schedule for this docket include the following filing deadlines and hearing date:

EAL Sur-Surrebuttal: October 10, 2025
Settlement of Issues List: October 20, 2025
Opposition to Settlement: October 23, 2025
Hearing: October 30, 2025 at 9:30am

Catch up on the latest filings in APSC Docket 25-047-U on SREA's blog: https://southernrenewable.org/news-updates/srea-files-surrebuttal-testimony-exhibits-in-ark-psc-docket-25-047-u

Read the full article on Arkansas Business: https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/arkansas-new-power-plants-demand-surge/

Have questions about the Public Service Commission, dockets, how it works, and how you can be involved in the process? Join the Powering Arkansas conversation.

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