Entergy Mississippi Prepares to Meet State's Future Electric Needs

JACKSON, Miss., June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Mississippi, Inc. has a plan for Mississippi's electric service needs through 2025. To implement that plan, the company has filed its first general rate case in nearly 12 years with the Mississippi Public Service Commission. This rate case is a blueprint for the future that lays out the company's plans for improving reliability, modernizing the grid, maintaining its workforce, stabilizing rates, utilizing new technologies, attracting new industry and more.

"Under this plan, we'll spend the next decade focusing on low rates, more jobs, more choice and smart investments," said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO.

Items in the proposed plan include:

• Three 500 KW utility-scale solar power projects
• A green power option for customers
• Distribution and transmission improvements to modernize the grid and reduce outage frequency and length
• Rate incentives to help attract new and expanding industrial customers
• New regulatory mechanisms to aid in providing electrical service to attractive industrial sites. This will help attract economic development and job creation
• Making a two-year discount permanent for eligible, new small businesses

"Over the last 12 years, we've been keeping pace in the midst of a rapidly changing power landscape that includes more stringent and expensive federal regulation," said Fisackerly. "Working in partnership with the MPSC, we've been successful in managing the higher risks and challenges we've faced, and I believe we've done what our customers and regulators would want their electric utility to do:  make wise decisions to keep costs down now and make prudent investments to keep costs down in the future. This plan will help us continue to do so."

The filing seeks an increase in revenues that would change the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month by approximately $6.28, or about .20 cents per day. However, this increase is expected to be significantly offset by the expiration of other charges being billed on a temporary basis, including the recently approved fuel and ad valorem tax increases totaling $5.57.  The net impact on typical customer bills is expected to be less than .75 cents, or less than .03 cents a day. Entergy Mississippi is not asking for an increase in its allowed shareholder rate of return on equity. 

"We work hard to keep rates low and do not take any rate increase lightly," said Fisackerly. "With the proposed increase, Entergy Mississippi rates are expected to remain both below the national average and among the lowest residential rates in the state and the Southeast."

The national average residential rate per 1,000 kWh is $122.60, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's latest figures. Based on expected fuel costs and current projections, Entergy Mississippi's residential rate in January will be approximately $114.36.

Despite increasing costs from more numerous and stringent federal regulations and flat sales growth since 2008's economic downturn, Entergy Mississippi has been able to keep rates low through the years by reducing overhead costs and making smart power planning decisions. The proposed rate case will help Entergy continue this trend.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 441,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,000 employees.

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In this release, and from time to time, Entergy Mississippi, Inc. makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy Mississippi undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed in this release and in: (i) Entergy Corporation and subsidiaries' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and (ii) Entergy Corporation and subsidiaries' other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with rate proceedings, formula rate plans and other cost recovery mechanisms; (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs; (d) nuclear plant relicensing, operating and regulatory risks, including any changes resulting from the nuclear crisis in Japan following its catastrophic earthquake and tsunami; (e) legislative and regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or litigation by or against Entergy Corporation and its subsidiaries and (f) economic conditions and conditions in commodity and capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements, in addition to other factors described elsewhere in this release and subsequent securities filings.

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SOURCE Entergy Corporation