Public Service Commission May Vote on Mississippi Power
Rate Increase Next Week by Keith Burton - GCN 2/5/09 Updated 2/8/09 In what Mississippi Power executives late last year surely thought
would be a routine slam dunk, a 9.2 percent
"I haven't been trying to avoid your calls, Bentz said, "We have been hashing out what we should do." Initial news media reports on the Mississippi Power rate increase suggested that the increase would be quickly approved and in place to begin as soon as this month. That didn't happen. Bentz said the commissioners are hamstrung by how the PSC was reorganized way back in the early 1990's following a series of federal charges that resulted in the arrests of some commissioners. Bentz explained that the commission is actually two commissions. One is what the public sees, consisting of the three elected commissioners, and the other a bureaucratic Public Service Commission that is under the control of an appointed director that doesn't answer to the commissioners but to the governor. The problem, Bentz says is that neither the commissioners or the staff under the director's control have the tools and resources to audit the material provided to the commission from the utility companies. A bill to put some real teeth in the commission is under consideration by the state legislature, but faces stiff opposition by the governor and some Republicans. "This commission needs help," Bentz told GCN. "We have got to have the resources to do what the public expects of us. If you don't have the resources to audit these utility companies, then you don't have the ability to regulate them," Bentz said. The director of the Public Service Commission is Robert Waites (photo
lower left), a Gulfport native, has served under three The PSC director serves six year terms and earns between $130,000 to
$140,000 in salary. The director and staff are paid from a budget that is
set up separately from that of the elected commissioners. Bentz said the
director and his staff also do not have the funding and resources to audit
utility company claims. Mississippi Power asked for the rate increase to pass onto ratepayers the higher costs for coal and natural gas the company projected over the near future. The problem Bentz said is that fuel costs prices are quite volatile with natural gas prices sharply lower than they were just this past summer. Coal prices and electric power usage have been affected recently with the slowdown in the world economy. Bentz acknowledges that any rate increase comes at a tough time for Mississippians. GCN asked if he was aware of any rate decreases from Mississippi Power in his memory, and he said, "I can't recall any." Any rate increase will effect every household and business on the Coast at a time when other economic pressures are already squeezing finances for almost everyone. An electric rate increase would result in job losses in many businesses, from casinos to retail stores as sales have struggled to pace last year's totals. Bentz would not say at this point if Mississippi Power would get their requested rate increase, but he did say that it was likely that the company's desired profit margin will be reduced. But at this juncture, it appears that Mississippi Power will get a increase. More Information: Comment to the Public Service Commission - (email form) Mississippi Power's Rate Increase Unwarranted - GCN Analysis
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consumer rate increase
to handle future fuel costs before the Mississippi Public Service
Commission has yet to be approved, but that decision is expected to could come
sometime this week.
Southern
District Public Service Commissioner Leonard Bentz was contacted by GCN
about Mississippi Power's rate increase proposal shortly after it was
publicly announced over a month ago. The PSC has been embroiled in
hearings for weeks and Friday, Bentz called to say that the commission
should have a decision sometime this week. 