JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Regulators on Tuesday ordered Mississippi Power Co. to lower rates later this month and plan for customer refunds by November.
In issuing the order, the Mississippi Public Service Commission voted 3-0 to comply with a state Supreme Court order that found illegal a 2013 rate increase for the $6.2 billion plant.
The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. must roll back the 18 percent increase starting with the August billing cycle, which begins July 20. A residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month in electricity would see monthly bills fall to $121 from $144 currently. The average residential customer uses more power than that, and thus pays more.
With interest, about $350 million is due to the company’s 186,000 customers from Meridian to the Gulf Coast. Mississippi Power lawyer Ben Stone told commissioners Tuesday that a 1,000 kwh-a-month residential customer is due between $500 and $600.
Hattiesburg oilman Tommy Blanton, who’s running for the southern district PSC seat as a Democrat and brought the lawsuit, said he was pleased.