The Hattiesburg American Editorial, 10/8/8
One thing that Attorney General Jim Hood knows full well is that all of us – this writer included – are frustrated and angry over the financial burdens of high energy costs.
The arrival of the electricity bill each month at our home is a monthly instance of “shock and awe” as my wife and I shake our heads and wonder aloud just how high that bill can go. Of course, we said that when it reached the $500 per month mark and that figure is rapidly increasing.
In response to soaring energy costs, Hood filed suit asking a Hinds County chancery judge to force Entergy Mississippi to reveal how it buys fuel and electricity. He contends that Entergy buys fuel and power from other Entergy subsidiaries at a higher price than it could on the open market, then passes those costs along to consumers.
But Entergy is fighting Hood’s state court demand for their records in the federal courts, saying that its fuel pricing is “audited by a number of regulatory agencies” including the state Public Service Commission. In their federal court filings, Entergy called Hood’s investigation “a fishing expedition, commanding the production and delivery of great volumes of documents and information, relevant or irrelevant, in the hope that something will turn up, evading regular administrative jurisdictions, processes and protections.”
Magnolia Tribune
