NEW ORLEANS — The electricity bills in the New Orleans area have noticeably gone up for the month of January leaving some Entergy customers fearful about keeping their lights on. Well, help came in the nick of time this weekend. 

“We’re blessing the community with $100 checks for their Entergy bills,” Household of Faith Pastor Antoine Barriere told WGNO. 

The partnership with Entergy assisted more than 500 families on Saturday. 

“We realize that so many people are going through and having challenges and so we wanted to be a blessing to the community,” said Barriere. 

Amelia Shy, a Harvey resident says receiving the $100 check was more than a blessing to her. 

“This actually means that I can have electricity for another month,” Shy said. “I lost my job and unemployment ran out and it’s been a bit much, it really has. I’m just so thankful that they were able to help me.”

The CEO of Entergy, David Ellis says the company offers other ways to assist customers. 

“Like providing you with smart thermostats, making recommendations on where you should be setting your thermostat to optimally drive out unnecessary costs,” Ellis explained. 

“It lets us know that they’re here for us,” said Shy. “Even though we have to pay them, they’re still here to help us!”

Entergy and the Household of Faith will continue passing out $100 checks towards power bills on Sunday morning. The Household of Faith’s East and Westbank location will hand out 550 checks per location.