Mississippi Power issues statement regarding potential Kemper rate case filing

In today’s quarterly conference call with financial analysts, Southern Company President and CEO Tom Fanning stated that Mississippi Power is preparing to file a rate case for the Kemper County energy facility by mid-May.

As previously announced, Mississippi Power has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to rehear the case in which the Court deemed the current rates for Kemper invalid. The company believes the Court’s decision was not in the best interest of our customers and would create higher bills. Additionally, statewide business leaders recently filed amicus briefs with the Court agreeing that the current rate plan is of great benefit to customers.

While the company awaits the Court’s decision on rehearing, we will continue to work toward a reasonable comprehensive settlement with the Mississippi Public Utility Staff. Mississippi Power looks forward to progress in these discussions to keep customers’ monthly bills lower over the next three to five years.

As a possible alternative to a settlement with the public utility staff, Mississippi Power also is preparing to file a rate case by mid-May. With completion of the project in sight, the company must maintain all options to ensure that rate recovery of the project is adequately addressed in a timely manner.

The rate case filing is still in development and no further details are available at this time. Mississippi Power will provide details when a filing is made with the Mississippi Public Service Commission.