Poor Entergy.

The company that makes most of the electricity sold in Warren County is on the ropes. The price of fossil fuels needed by some of its plants has been gyrating more than Elvis ever did. The state Public Service Commission is not only pushing for a new audit, but also demanding that people — real people, not taped people — take phone calls from customers. The notion of whether to move ahead with a new nuclear plant has hit a hitch due to a breakdown in dealing with Hitachi-General Electric, which would make essential components. Perhaps causing the greatest aggravation, Attorney General Jim Hood is suing, alleging fraud through insider deals to push up profits.

And oh, yes, raccoons keep shorting out the Porters Chapel substation.

One raccoon’s misstep shut down service to 2,806 Entergy meters one night last week, following another who took the same perilous path — and met the same fricasseed fate — as one did the week before, putting 1,220 homes and businesses in the dark.

Serious stuff. Especially for those with electric heat. It was seriously cold.

Our suggestion? Hire two people. Station one at the substation, armed with a pellet gun.

And just in case, station another, preferably unarmed, out on the road to be on the lookout for any dark sedans with AG-1 plates that might arrive at dusk with crated raccoons to release and chicken bones to toss on transformers.

Perhaps Entergy’s enemy is man and nature. Perhaps it’s man, enlisting the help of nature.