# How Entergy Structures Its Business to Separate Profits From Rates (Arkansas Business) > *Text-extract archive. arkansasbusiness.com returns HTTP 403 on direct download (Invoke-WebRequest and curl with browser UA) and on MCP fetch; the article text below was recovered 2026-06-11 via Firecrawl scrape (HTTP 200). No original HTML file is preserved.* ## Source metadata - **Publisher:** Arkansas Business (arkansasbusiness.com) - **Byline:** Kyle Massey - **URL:** https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/entergy-structures-business-separate-profits-from-rates/ - **Published:** 2026-06-08T05:00:15Z; modified 2026-06-11T15:36:28Z (per page metadata) - **Archived:** 2026-06-11 (text recovery via Firecrawl scrape; direct download blocked with 403) - **Wayback snapshot:** https://web.archive.org/web/20260612170430/... — Save Page Now succeeded on the 2026-06-11 submission (snapshot timestamp is UTC); the availability API had shown no prior snapshot. ## Extract When *Arkansas Business* reached out to Entergy Arkansas' parent company, Entergy Corp. of New Orleans, it gave a surprising answer on how it balances its profit motive against electricity affordability for customers. "Entergy Corporation is not an investor-owned utility and has neither customers nor rates," the company's communications team said in an email relayed by Lamor Williams of Entergy Arkansas. That was a head-scratcher, considering Entergy Corp. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of nearly $51 billion. And the fact that it has a chief customer officer, Elizabeth Adams, would seem to undercut the notion that it has no customers. In fact, Entergy Corp.'s own press releases say that it "produces, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas." OK, so it has customers who pay rates, so what are we missing? "Entergy Arkansas is the rate-regulated utility and has the customers," Williams explained, fielding a follow-up question. "Entergy Corp. is not." The operating companies are the regulated utilities. "We're investor owned," Williams said of Entergy Arkansas, "because we sit beneath a corporation that has stockholders." This column reported May 11 that Entergy Corp. CEO Drew Marsh was among the top 10 best-compensated utility CEOs of 2025, according to an analysis of annual corporate reports by the Energy & Policy Institute, a nonprofit watchdog. Marsh's $16.7 million in total compensation last year put him eighth on the list. Entergy Arkansas CEO Laura Landreaux had total compensation of $1.4 million, according to regulatory filings. So we asked Entergy to ask about its compensation processes and priorities. The responses came long after that article went to press. The replies said that Entergy Arkansas invests in resources and equipment to provide safe and reliable electric service, always keeping affordability in mind. "This is why our rates are 22% below the national average," the company said. "As a rate-regulated utility our rates reflect the opportunity to earn a reasonable return on our investments, so that we may maintain strong financial metrics, which in turn work to lower our costs." The Arkansas Public Service Commission, which oversees public utilities, authorized an 8.43% guaranteed return on equity for Entergy Arkansas in 2025 and 2026. But the utility's new general rate review application seeks a higher guaranteed ROE of 9.85%. That would take effect along with restructured base rates beginning next January. Many businesses would love to see a guaranteed return of nearly 10%, especially if they were also guaranteed a monopoly market. Most power customers have little choice when it comes to buying electricity. So how does profitability factor into compensation for Entergy executives? The company replied that it must deliver safe, reliable and affordable power "while also investing into the long-term health and resiliency" of the system communities rely on. "To do that effectively, we need strong, experienced leadership and a strong financial foundation." Executive pay is benchmarked "to the median of comparable utilities to ensure that it remains reasonable and market-based," the company said. Entergy Arkansas doesn't charge ratepayers for Marsh's compensation, the company said. "Most of Entergy Corporation Chair and CEO Drew Marsh's compensation is incentives tied to stock and options, and Entergy Arkansas does not currently recover those costs in rates." Entergy Corp. has about 12,000 employees. The annual total compensation of its median employee is $189,374, the company reported in its 2026 proxy statement. ## Notes - Tier: 3 — established business news outlet (Arkansas Business), named-source reporting. - Anchors: Entergy Corp. communications statement "Entergy Corporation is not an investor-owned utility and has neither customers nor rates"; Drew Marsh's $16.7M total 2025 compensation, eighth among utility CEOs per the Energy & Policy Institute analysis; Entergy Arkansas CEO Laura Landreaux's $1.4M; the APSC-authorized **8.43%** ROE for Entergy Arkansas in 2025 and 2026, with the pending rate application seeking **9.85%** effective with restructured base rates "beginning next January." - The 8.43%/9.85% ROE figures trace to APSC Docket 26-001-U filings (Tier 1) — this archive contextualizes; the docket record establishes. - Cited by: (populated by wiki pages that reference this archive)