Mississippi Power files appeal with Mississippi Supreme Court
Company takes action on behalf of customers to ensure lowest cost possible for the Kemper plant
Jul 9, 2012
Gulfport, Miss. – Today, Mississippi Power appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s (PSC) June 22 order denying the company any cost recovery until the legal challenges by the Sierra Club are resolved, a decision that effectively denies the company’s ability to collect financing costs of the Kemper plant while under construction making the project significantly more expensive for customers. This legal action, which includes a motion for interim rate relief, is necessary to save customers millions of dollars in interest costs.
The appeal will have the same impact to customers as the original request filed with the PSC. “The collection of interest costs for the plant during construction will accomplish two important objectives,” said Moses Feagin, vice president and chief financial officer. “One, to lower the overall cost of the plant for our customers, and two, to reduce the potential rate shock they would have otherwise experienced.”
The ability to collect financing costs during construction was authorized by the PSC in its 2010 final order granting the certificate to build the Kemper plant. It was this final PSC order that authorized and required Mississippi Power to begin construction.
Since the PSC’s cost recovery denial, Mississippi Power has received a credit rating downgrade with a negative outlook. Timely recovery of financing costs is critical to the company’s ability to maintain financial health and have access to capital needed in its everyday operations as well as in emergency situations when customers need it most.
Mississippi Power has an obligation to provide reliable, dependable and abundant energy to meet customer needs today and into the future. The Kemper plant is scheduled to be completed by May 2014.
Mississippi Power, a Southern Company subsidiary, serves approximately 185,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties.
Mississippi Power Press Release
7/9/12
Magnolia Tribune
