Mississippi Power customers should not be penalized

A recent article in the newspaper informed the public that Mississippi Power would be starting to ask for fuel adjustment increases for our new power plant in Kemper County. So much for the promise of cheaper power with the new lignite coal system.

There have been many articles in the media talking about cost overruns and postponed start-up dates. The cost of natural gas could skyrocket and not come close to the cost of maintaining and operating this $7 billion-plus corporate nightmare.

It’s time for the Public Service Commission to protect the ratepayers of Mississippi. Tell Southern Co. and its affiliate Mississippi Power that due to their own engineering and construction miscalculations, their stockholders and the corporation need to absorb the total cost.

Mississippi Power customers should not be penalized for a huge corporate financial mistake that continues to grow monthly. If they cannot supply the cheaper energy as proposed, then it’s time for them to shut it down and absorb the total cost.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Mississippi Power customers should not be penalized."