BATON ROUGE - For the past two and a half years, Kathy King has been fighting with Entergy over a security light charge that she says she shouldn't have to pay.

"It's the principle of the matter," said King.

The charge, which started at about $30, has grown to $124. In 2021, King says a contractor at her home noticed a security light in her backyard was not working. King says she put in a service request with Entergy for repairs but after Hurricane Ida hit she canceled the service. The light was not fixed and the charges continued to accrue on her bill for several months. It wasn't until February 2022 did Entergy acknowledge via email that the service was canceled.

"I canceled and I continued to be billed for the light," said King.

The charges did not go away.

"After many, many phone calls trying to get it resolved they continue to tack on late fees to those several months of light charges I wasn't paying," said King.

Each month, King pays her Entergy bill on time but first subtracts the security light charges and the late fees. The fees have added up to about $124.

"After two and a half years it's just a ridiculous situation," said King.

She says she's spent hours on the phone fighting the charges. Several times King says she was told the reason her concerns had not been addressed was due to a backlog in the billing department. Her problem has gone unresolved.

"The reason why I called you is because this week I got a disconnect notice," said King.

Entergy is threatening to turn off her service because of the $124 portion of her bill she has not paid. King tells 2 On Your Side she feels like she's being held hostage by a utility company.

"The only conclusion that I can come up with is that we are captive customers of Entergy because we have no choice," said King.

Following the disconnect notice, King called Entergy and says the company has agreed to extend the deadline until May 2 while they work through her billing issue.