Good news for ratepayers in the Magnolia State. Entergy Mississippi’s most recent proposal to keep rates stable has been approved by the Public Service Commission.
The utility company, which services approximately 459,000 customers across 45 Mississippi counties, announced Thursday that its plan to maintain billing roughly 20% below the national average has been given the green light by the regulatory arm of the state.
Entergy’s plan, which will come to fruition during the next billing cycle, comes as the anticipated summer heat wave will cause customers to increase their energy usage. The typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month is slated to have a slight bill decrease beginning in July.
Despite the increased costs required to generate power, maintain infrastructure, and provide electrical service, Entergy Mississippi’s annual rate plan will offset those costs to give customers some financial relief despite their uptick in power consumption.
To keep rates low amid a higher usage of power, Entergy boasts its partnerships with large companies like Amazon Web Services that allow the company to invest in its infrastructure while “lessening the burden for our residential customers,” a claim serving as pushback to a concern that recent economic development projects would cause rates to skyrocket for the average consumer.
The company also claims to utilize a diverse range of power sources and modern technology to deliver efficient, cost-effective power to customers while simultaneously managing fuel costs.
“We’re thankful for the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s continued oversight and support of our efforts to keep rates affordable while making critical reliability improvements and addressing increased challenges caused by vegetation,” Entergy Mississippi president and CEO Haley Fisackerly said.
Also included in the approved proposal is approximately $525 million related to power quality and reliability improvements and efforts planned for 2025 to help customers save money through energy efficiency rebates and savings programs.
“It’s more important than ever that our teams work diligently to help keep bills as low as possible, which is why we approach affordability from every angle,” Fisackerly continued. “We’re pulling in large customers, so we can direct their funds to modernizing technologies that will benefit all of our customers. And we’re balancing fuel prices and our generation resources because we know both can fluctuate. We hope this stability will help customers feel some relief from the heat and in their wallets at a time when they need it most.”
For those looking to save money on cooling costs this summer, which can make up more than 52% of the average customer’s electric bill, Entergy is promoting its bill toolkit to help customers find relief.
