BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Delta Utilities customers packed a town hall meeting Tuesday to voice frustrations over rising gas bills, with some reporting increases of 300 percent to 500 percent since the company took over natural gas services from Entergy.
The meeting took place at the MLK Community Center and drew people seeking answers about billing issues they’ve faced in the Capital Region since the utility transfer.
Customers report dramatic bill increases
Claudia Shepherd said her monthly bill jumped from $22 to $200 over several billing cycles.
“At first, I received a bill at $22. Then the next one was $33. Then the other one was $94. This one, $200. So, I just don’t understand how the rising coming up so quick,” Shepherd said.
Sandra Smith criticized the company’s customer service response.
“Very concerned because they’re asking the same question I want to hear. I want to ask. You say you don’t answer the phone. You say you answer the phone. That is the biggest lie,” Smith said.
Officials seek answers
East Baton Rouge Metro Councilmembers Twahna Harris, Cleve Dunn Jr., and Carolyn Coleman organized the meeting and invited Delta representatives and District 3 Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis to help quell concerns.
“We can’t control or dictate how Delta responds from a customer service standpoint, but we can control and dictate them coming to our communities and hearing from our constituents firsthand,” Dunn said.
Dunn said the meeting is one of several planned across East Baton Rouge Parish based on the volume of complaints received by council members.
“We don’t want to see these inflating bills. We don’t want to see these increased bills. We’ve got reports of 300, 500 percent increases in bills. People paying $10 one month, paying $150 the next month. We don’t want to see that,” Dunn said.
Company cites cold weather, assistance programs
Delta representatives and other officials attributed some of the higher bills to cold weather and promoted assistance programs available to customers.
Delta, Commissioner Lewis, and his office tracked individual bills brought by customers to identify potential issues.
Shepherd said she left without answers.
“I just ain’t got no answers yet. So, I don’t know. Guess I keep on calling,” she said.
Entergy sold its natural gas business to Delta Utilities in July 2025. The transfer affected customers in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas.
Delta encourages customers with billing complaints to call their customer service line at 1-833-DELTA-99 (1-833-335-8299).
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