Public Service Commission approves multiple utility orders, opens rulemaking and recognizes utility workers

The Mississippi Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved a group of routine and substantive orders, including a stipulation with Mississippi Power on its property-damage reserve, multiple service-territory exchanges, a performance-evaluation plan stipulation and several administrative items. Commissioners also opened a rulemaking on the Net Generation rule and entered a temporary stay on tariffs related to the Solar for Schools program pending that rulemaking.

The actions streamline several utility filings and renewals the commission reviews regularly while authorizing staff and companies to continue planned reliability and modernization work. The meeting included presentations from Mississippi Power staff on reliability metrics and capital spending, and the commission adopted a resolution urging the Legislature to designate utility workers as first responders.

Why it matters: the package of approvals preserves the pace of infrastructure investments Mississippi utilities say are necessary to maintain reliability, while the new rulemaking and the Solar for Schools stay signal the commission wants more stakeholder input on how net-generation and school-solar costs are handled. The resolution asking the Legislature to recognize linemen and other utility workers as first responders formalizes a policy request intended to streamline emergency access and support during storms.

Key votes and outcomes - The commission adopted the consent docket for the June open meeting by unanimous voice vote. Commissioners proceeded through the energy, telecommunications and administrative dockets without roll-call tallies for most items.

- Entergy (Docket 2024 UA 129): staff presented a joint stipulation resolving annual formula-rate and look-back items. The stipulation left Entergy’s projected earned return within the bandwidth that requires no base-rate change; after look-back true-ups consumers will see a small reduction (about 4¢ for a 1,000 kWh residential bill) in July bills. The commission approved the staff-recommended stipulation.

- Mississippi Power — SRR/property-damage reserve (Docket 2006UN511): Mississippi Power and staff filed and the commission approved a stipulation addressing adjustments and the company’s property-damage reserve. The company reported a projected 2025 reserve balance of about $65,000,000 and requested commission authority to allow a total reserve balance of $125,000,000. Company representatives and staff reviewed the account’s history (including post‑Hurricane Katrina securitization and later drawdowns after storms) during the record. The order approving the stipulation carried.

- Mississippi Power — 2025 jurisdictional cost-of-service study: staff recommended and the commission approved Mississippi Power’s 2025 cost-of-service study, which uses a projected test year methodology the company proposed and which staff’s consultant reviewed.

- Service-territory exchanges (multiple dockets, county-specific): the commission approved a set of settlements by which Mississippi Power, Pearl River Valley Electric Power Association, Coast Electric Power Association and others exchange small parcels of certificated service area in Lamar, Stone, Hancock and Harrison counties (including transfers related to the Shadowwood, River Hills and Hideaway Lake areas). No money changed hands; each utility’s service area constituted the consideration for the exchanges.

- Telecommunications CPCN (Docket 2025UA48): the commission approved a certificate of public convenience and necessity for Extinet Asset Entity LLC (EAE), finding the applicant demonstrated managerial, technical and financial capability to offer facilities-based and resale competitive local and interexchange services.

- Relay-service contract renewals: the commission approved two-year contract renewals for Hamilton Relay and T‑Mobile to continue providing the federally mandated dual-party relay service funded by a 25¢ assessment on each landline.

- Great River Utility annual FRP filings (Dockets 2025UN35 and related): Great River filed multiple proposals and a fourth proposal that would establish a three‑year rate moratorium through 2028, paired with new reporting and audit procedures. The commission voted to approve the stipulation adopting the fourth proposal; the record shows one commissioner explicitly declined to support the measure, and the final vote passed over that dissent.

- Administrative matters: the commission approved the May 2025 minutes and several routine orders, including a depreciation study for corporate assets tied to CenterPoint (docket 2024UN107) that staff and the company had stipulated produces a minimal customer impact.

- Rulemaking and Solar-for-Schools stay: by unanimous procedural votes the commission added and approved an order opening a rulemaking docket to consider proposed changes to the Net Generation rule (chapter 6). The commission also entered an order staying Solar for Schools tariffs in several dockets (listed in the order) pending the chapter-6 rulemaking; staff’s order sets 20 days to intervene and 45 total days to file written comments under the Administrative Procedures Act.

- Mississippi Power 2025 PEP (Docket 2019UN219): after a multi-part presentation from Mississippi Power managers on transmission, distribution and generation reliability and a joint stipulation with staff, the commission approved the order resolving the company’s performance-evaluation-plan filing. Company presenters said the capital program for 2025 totals roughly $340 million, with distribution work and storm-hardening representing the largest buckets; staff and the company noted that, under the filed schedules and surcharge mechanics, an average 1,000 kWh residential bill will rise approximately $0.86 from June to July as the remainder of the approved rate and a short-term surcharge go into effect.

- Resolution recognizing utility workers as first responders: the commission unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Legislature to recognize utility workers (linemen, gas and water crews and similar personnel) as first responders to ensure priority access and resources during emergencies.

What commissioners said Commissioner Carr praised utilities for cooperating on service-territory exchanges, saying, “It makes the commission’s job a lot easier when utility companies work together for the better of our citizens.” Commissioner Cohen commended Mississippi Power’s transparency during presentations and said the company’s openness helped the commission and staff handle complex projects.

What remains next - The administrative order opening the rulemaking on chapter 6 allows 20 days to intervene and 45 days for written comments; parties that want to contest the Solar for Schools tariffs or the Net Generation rule changes can intervene and file comments in that proceeding. - Several docketed items approved today include implementation steps (tariff changes, technical filings or account transfers) that staff will track for compliance. The commission set no additional interim deadlines beyond those in the orders.

Ending note: the meeting included extended technical presentations by Mississippi Power staff on reliability metrics and capital plans tied to many of the approved items. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized the need for transparency between utilities and the commission as the state plans for accelerated growth in generation and major commercial loads.