The Mississippi Public Service Commission on Jan. 2025 approved six Entergy Mississippi rate-rider updates and agreed to consider additional information on a seventh after commissioners raised questions about whether costs tied to a large commercial customer could be borne by other ratepayers.

Staff told the commission that Entergy’s combined filings — covering its MISO cost and revenue rider (MISO-2), grid modernization cost adjustment (GMR1), the expiration of a corporate restructuring credit (Schedule RC1), unit power cost recovery (UPC4), net energy metering (NEM2) and the company’s fuel adjustment clause (ECR4) — would change individual rider factors and, when combined, increase a 1,000-kilowatt-hour residential bill by about $3.29 per month beginning with February billing. The PMR14 filing, which seeks to recover power-management and certain natural-gas hedging costs, was pulled for separate discussion and follow-up.

Why it matters: Commissioners said they wanted assurance that costs specifically attributable to serving a large commercial customer would not be shifted to other ratepayers. Entergy representatives told the commission some project costs in PMR14 could be related to network projects that “could serve that customer” and asked to provide a confidential status update on ongoing discussions. Commissioners approved the other filings after staff recommended approval and then approved the PMR14 filing with a request that Entergy provide the additional information and, if appropriate, file updated figures.

Most important details
- Staff said the proposed MISO-2 factor will produce a larger negative credit in 2025 (from −2.36605% to −4.11249%), yielding roughly a $2.30 decrease on a 1,000 kWh residential bill and a monetary change of about $27.3 million related to higher projected transmission revenues and planning resource auction results.
- The grid modernization rider (GMR1) factor would rise from 2.18859% to 2.32618%, increasing a 1,000 kWh residential bill by about $0.18 per month; staff cited higher conductor-handling costs and accelerated wood-pole replacement investment.
- The corporate restructuring credit (Schedule RC1) would expire after customers received the approved $27 million in bill credits; expiration results in roughly a $0.40 monthly increase for a 1,000 kWh bill.
- Staff said UPC4 would increase costs tied to purchased wholesale capacity, producing about a $0.53 monthly increase for a 1,000 kWh residential bill, and that the ECR4 fuel-adjustment filing would raise bills about $3.64 per month for the same usage due to projected higher fuel costs and prior-period adjustments.
- Staff’s combined estimate for the net effect of the rider filings (excluding the separately discussed PMR14) was an increase of about $3.29 per month for a 1,000 kWh residential customer beginning with February billing.

Discussion and the PMR14 question
Commissioner Carr asked whether the PMR14 increase was related to projects tied to a large customer. Entergy representative Teyana Rabe said some elements of the PMR increase “are related to projects that potentially could serve that customer” and that confidential communications were ongoing that could “lower the cost of those projects over the term of those projects.” Rabe told the commission, “we are endeavoring to do is to make sure that none of the costs associated for solely serving [that customer] are being borne by other ratepayers.”

Commissioner Carr said, “It’s just that I’m concerned that it looks like the rate payer is paying for this and is dealing with [that customer], and I thought that wasn't supposed to be the case.” Rabe responded that projects specifically attributable to serving that customer were not the primary drivers of the PMR increase and that any customer-specific costs would not be passed to other customers.

Outcome
The commission approved items 1–3 and 5–7 on the energy agenda on a voice vote after staff recommended approval. Commissioners pulled item 4 (PMR14) for separate consideration; after discussion and a motion that the commission approve the PMR14 filing subject to Entergy providing the requested additional information and, if necessary, filing updated figures, the commission approved the item and asked Entergy to follow up with staff and the commissioners on the confidential matters.

What remains unclear
Entergy indicated it would provide dates and budget status for the projects in question (one representative said potential in-service dates were 2027–28) and said confidential negotiations could reduce projected costs; the commission requested that Entergy supply that information and, where required, file an updated docket if numbers materially change.

Staff, dockets and legal references
Staff’s presentation referenced multiple dockets tied to the filings (for example, dockets identified in the hearing as 2017-UA-189 for MISO-2; 2017-UN-198 for GMR1; 2018-UN-258 for the restructuring credit; 2022-UN-135 for PMR14; 2024-UN-112 for UPC4; and 2024-UN-121 for ECR4) and cited Mississippi Code 77,342 in discussing the fuel adjustment clause. Staff reported verifying the clerical accuracy of the filings and tracing amounts to Entergy’s books and records and recommended approval.

Next steps
Entergy said it will provide the commission with additional, confidential information about the projects discussed and the staff will coordinate with the company to determine whether an updated filing is necessary. The commission’s approval was conditioned on receiving and reviewing that information and on Entergy filing updated data if appropriate.

Ending
Commissioners said they expect staff to review the confidential updates and notify the commission if further public action is required; Entergy committed to providing the requested information and to work with staff on any necessary follow-up filings.