The Public Service Commission is set to vote on a new version of the rules on Tuesday. Reeves says it’s a bad deal for ratepayers.
In mid-July, the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 2-1 to update its Net Metering and Interconnection Rules.
PSC Commissioner Dane Maxwell, a Republican, voted against the new rules while Commissioners Brandon Presley, a Democrat, and Brent Bailey, a Republican, voted for them.
Commissioner Maxwell previously told Y’all Politics that while he supports the right of Mississippians to self-supply their own electricity, his main concern is the “masses paying extra for the benefit of a few.”
“I cannot support a policy that forces Entergy or Mississippi Power Company customers who either choose not to, or cannot afford to, put solar panels on the roofs of their homes to pay more on their electric bills to finance their neighbor’s investment,” Commissioner Maxwell told Y’all Politics.
Tomorrow, just weeks after the vote to update the net metering rules, PSC Commissioners are set to revisit the issue amid growing opposition to its action. Since the July vote, citizens and energy groups have raised concerns over long-term impacts the new net metering rules will have on ratepayers.
On Monday, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves joined Commissioner Maxwell and others in voicing his own opposition to the Public Service Commission’s updated net metering rules.
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) October 3, 2022
“Woke Biden policies have driven the cost of energy too high for Americans. Now, the [Mississippi] Public Service Commissioner is prepping to vote again to make you pay more each moth so that some homes – only those that they choose – can get money to install solar panels,” Reeves tweeted. “Bad ‘net metering’ means more expensive energy for you – [Mississippi] ratepayers.”
Governor Reeves called the PSC’s rules a “bad deal,” adding that they should slow down. He said if Commissioners do not, the Legislature must reverse it.
Y’all Politics spoke with Commissioner Maxwell on Monday. He said his opposition to the rules remains, echoing the Governor’s comments that it is a bad deal for Mississippi energy ratepayers.
Maxwell said the changes being put forward from the original version are still not where he believes they should be for the benefit of all ratepayers.
To view the PSC agenda for Tuesday, October 4, 2022, click here.
Frank Corder
