(The Center Square) − The Louisiana Public Service Commission postponed a vote on a proposal that would have halted the state’s energy efficiency program, a policy requiring utility companies to help customers reduce electricity usage.

Commissioners voted to defer action until May, leaving the current program intact for now.

The decision comes as debate intensifies over the program’s future, with some regulators calling it costly and others arguing it’s essential to lowering energy bills — especially for low-income households.

In 2024, the LPSC voted to overhaul the program in a bid to increase energy savings and deliver more benefits to residents. The reform included setting annual energy reduction targets for utilities like Entergy, Cleco and Swepco, while also carving out 15% of benefits for low-income customers.

Supporters say reversing those changes would mean putting utilities back in full control, erasing hard-fought protections for vulnerable households, and potentially forcing ratepayers to “double pay” utilities for power they didn’t use because of efficiency measures.

The commission heard from a mix of supporters and skeptics prior deferring the vote.

Mary Anne Mushatt, a New Orleans resident, questioned the quality of services delivered through the program in her area, saying contractors provided her with only lightbulbs and a faucet aerator.

“That was their concept of helping,” she said, calling for the state to move oversight of the program to a third party.

Others pointed to deep disparities in how gas and electric customers are treated under current utility-led programs. Jim Clark, an energy efficiency contractor, said Entergy’s customers often receive far less in rebates than Cleco’s, making it harder to complete meaningful upgrades in many homes.

“In St. Tammany Parish, every single citizen is a customer without any drawbacks,” Clark said, adding that in other areas, contractors won’t even travel if it’s not worth their time.

Clark also raised concerns that current discussions are overly focused on commercial savings, rather than the needs of residential customers who struggle to pay their utility bills.

Critics, including Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, worry that the statewide program could drive up costs.

Skrmetta has also warned that the new statewide structure adds unnecessary government oversight and could increase rates.

“We already have energy efficiency programs in place,” Skrmetta said in an October interview with The Center Square, advocating instead for utility-run efforts.

The current plan seeks to reduce energy use by 0.4% in its first year, ramping up to 0.5% annually over the following four years. Advocates say such reductions are key to alleviating Louisiana’s high energy burden, particularly in rural and low-income communities.

In 2023, Entergy’s efficiency program helped save over 26,900 megawatt-hours of electricity, exceeding its goal by 13%. The upgrades were delivered at a relatively low cost: just 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour on average.

Over the lifetime of those improvements, total energy savings for Entergy Gulf States Louisiana are projected at nearly 384,000 MWh, according to documents submitted to the LSPC. Analysts also found the program to be cost-effective: for every dollar spent, the state saw $2.57 in total benefits, and $3.06 in utility system savings alone, according to standard cost-effectiveness tests.

The commission will revisit the issue in May, with the fate of the program — and how much say utilities should have in shaping it — still up for debate.