More to power plant than MP is revealing

February 2, 2010

Anonymous The Laurel Leader-Call Tue Feb 02, 2010, 11:27 PM CST

To the editor:

Mississippi Power Company (MPC) is a division of the stockholder owned Southern Company of Atlanta, Georgia. They primarily are in the retail and wholesale electricity business and turn a good profit each year for their stockholders.

The public has been bombarded for many months by the Power Company advertising their proposed new power plant to be built in Kemper County north of Meridian. Their ads are very eye catching and would have one to believe that their idea of burning lignite coal to power their new plant is the greatest idea to come along.

What they have purposefully left out of their spin so far is how the plant will be paid for. Their proposal, to be laid out to the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) on Feb. 1-5 seeks approval to pass on all pre-construction costs to existing customers electric bills up front, even before the first shovel of dirt is turned on the project. Some reports show $50 million has already been spent and actual construction costs will exceed $2.4 billion.

In the 2008 legislative session, lobbyist and people in HIGH state office quietly got enough votes to pass Senate Bill #2793 which will allow the PSC to vote on these costs to be passed on to we, the rate payers up front, even if the power company fails to obtain the necessary environmental permits and never builds the Power Plant.

Another part of future electricity costs is the Federal Cap and Trade issue slowly making its way through Congress. We read that when enacted, electricity costs will see a drastic increase to all users.

As one can see, when these new rates are put on our electric bills, many will suffer even more due to these unscrupulous backroom deals made by phony big business self-serving lobbying politicians, hopefully, some in their final term of public office.

In 2006, Governor Haley Barbour steered $276 million of your Community Development Block Grant Funds to Mississippi Power Company for alleged costs incurred by Katrina damage. That is taxpayer funds like another $270 million grant from the Department of Energy and $133 million investment tax credit from the National Energy Policy Act of 2005. The stockholders of the Power Company should be elated so far. Taxpayers should be angry.

You and your friends and neighbors can help defeat this financing scheme by contacting your Public Service Commissioner. Please do not wait another day as time is not on the consumers side. Tell your commissioners to Vote “No” on this financing scheme. Let the Power company’s stockholders obtain their own financing!

Mississippi Public Service Commissioners are:

Leonard Bentz 1-800-356-6429 Southern District

Lynn Posey - 1 800-356-6430 Central District

Brandon Presley 1-800-356-6428 Northern District

– Bill Bishop

Purvis

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