How Power Plants Are Regulated in Mississippi

Mississippi has no single office that runs its power plants. Oversight is divided among several bodies, and the right one depends on whether your question is about rates, emissions, safety or an outage.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned electric utilities, including Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power. Voters elect three commissioners, one from each of the Northern, Central and Southern Public Service Districts. The commission handles rate cases, service rules and approval of major generating projects. The Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, a separate office, reviews utility filings and speaks for customers in those proceedings.

Environmental rules run on another track. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, or MDEQ, writes air and water permits for generating stations, refineries and industrial boilers. A state permit board decides whether a facility may operate under set emission and discharge limits. Permit files are public records, so anyone living near a plant can ask to see them.

Federal agencies cover the rest. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees Grand Gulf Nuclear Station near Port Gibson in Claiborne County, the state's only commercial nuclear plant. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authority over interstate gas pipelines and wholesale power sales. That is why a pipeline entry such as the Transco listing in Tylertown answers to federal rather than local oversight.

Municipal utilities and cooperatives add a final layer. Cities such as Greenwood run their own electric departments under city government. Mississippi's electric power associations are member-owned cooperatives with elected boards. If your problem involves one of these, start with the utility itself, not the state.

In the northeast corner, many customers buy power from local distributors that get wholesale electricity from the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal corporation. Cooperative Energy, based in Hattiesburg, supplies power to many of the state's cooperatives. Knowing which system serves your address saves a lot of phone calls.

Delta, Capital Area, East-Central Hills and Coast: Regional Differences

Where you live in Mississippi decides which utility, and which office, you will deal with. A farmer in the Delta faces different options than a homeowner on the Gulf Coast, even when both are asking the same question.

The Delta: small plants and long power lines

In the Delta, generation is modest and often tied to town-run utilities. Greenwood Utilities lists Henderson Station at 101 Wright Place in Leflore County. Clarksdale's Crossroads Energy Center is at 240 Hick Street in Coahoma County and lists 662-627-8493. Flat farmland means long transmission and distribution lines, so one damaged line can leave a rural community without power for hours.

Jackson and the river counties

Around Jackson, regulators are close by. The Public Service Commission and MDEQ both have offices in the capital, so a resident of Hinds County can attend a hearing or file a records request in person. The Rex Brown listing sits at 1960 West Northside Drive in Jackson. Farther up the river, Ergon Refining Vicksburg at 2611 Haining Road (601-933-3000) shows how industrial energy sites share space with utility plants in Warren County.

East-central Mississippi: lignite and gas country

The east-central part of the state holds the heaviest cluster of entries. Red Hills Generating Facility at 2391 Pensacola Road in Ackerman is in Choctaw County and lists 662-387-5691. The Choctaw County Generating Station is listed at 91 Mississippi 407 in French Camp. Ratcliffe, at 5935 Mississippi 493 in De Kalb, falls in Kemper County. Meridian's listing at 255 Rosenbaum Avenue is in Lauderdale County.

The Gulf Coast: storms shape everything

On the coast, hurricanes drive planning. The Plant Watson listing for Mississippi Power is at 10406 Lorraine Road, filed under Biloxi. The Gulfport Naval Base PV system on 2nd Street is in Harrison County, and Chevron's Pascagoula site at 200 Industrial Road is in Jackson County. Coastal facilities are built and inspected with surge and wind in mind. Restoration after outages is a regular topic at local emergency offices.

Metro versus rural service

In metro areas like Jackson, customers usually have a walk-in business office, several payment options and quicker crew response. In rural counties, the nearest customer office may be in the county seat, and the provider is often a cooperative or a town utility. Ask early about payment locations, outage reporting and after-hours numbers, because they vary more in rural areas.

Coal, Gas, Nuclear and Solar: What Generates Mississippi's Power

Natural gas supplies most of the electricity generated in Mississippi, and the listings reflect that mix. Coal and lignite have lost ground over the past decade, while solar has grown from almost nothing.

The Kemper County story is the best-known example of the shift. Mississippi Power built a lignite gasification plant near De Kalb, then abandoned the gasification side in 2017 after years of cost overruns. The site now runs on natural gas. Anyone reading older news about the Kemper plant should check what it does today.

Nuclear power comes from one site. Grand Gulf, operated by Entergy at the end of Grand-Gulf Road in Claiborne County, is a single boiling-water reactor unit and among the largest single-reactor plants in the country.

Solar and other newer sources show up in smaller entries. Hattiesburg Solar Farm in Forrest County, Sumrall I Solar Farm on Mississippi 42 in Lamar County and the Gulfport Naval Base system are examples. The BTEC New Albany Power Plant in Union County is a further entry worth confirming with its owner before you rely on it.

Mississippi Rules That Affect Customers and Neighbors

A few state rules come up again and again when people call about power plants. Knowing them saves time.

Permits come first. Before a major plant or industrial boiler gets or renews an air or water permit, MDEQ normally posts a public notice and accepts written comments. If a facility near your home is changing its operations, watch for that notice and send comments before the deadline. Comments sent after the deadline may not be considered.

Digging is another. Mississippi law requires you to contact Mississippi 811 before any excavation, even for a fence post. The call is free, and it protects buried electric and gas lines, including those that run near plants and substations.

Rooftop solar depends on your utility. Interconnection rules and credit for power sent back to the grid differ among Entergy Mississippi, Mississippi Power, cooperatives and municipal systems. Ask your provider in writing what it offers before you sign a contract with an installer.

Finally, public bodies must open their records. Municipal utilities and county boards fall under the Mississippi Public Records Act, so budgets, meeting minutes and contracts can be requested. Cooperative members can also vote in board elections, which is how they influence rates and investments.

Finding the Right Power Plant Listing in Mississippi

A listing gives you a place, not always a service counter. Most generating stations have no public front desk, so the address on file is usually the plant gate or site entrance. Customer questions go to the utility's business office instead.

Before you drive anywhere, work through this short list:

Not every number reaches a local desk. The Transco entry in Tylertown lists 713-215-2000, a Houston area code, so expect a corporate line rather than a local office. The Batesville Generation Facility at 200 Industrial Drive in Batesville lists 601-705-6614.

Some names in the database are short or generic, such as 'Delta (Ms)' in Cleveland or 'Columbus Ms.' The Brookhaven entry named El Vado Dam matches a name used elsewhere in the country. Treat entries like these as starting points and confirm with the utility or the county before relying on them.

Power plant facilities in Mississippi include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. Mississippi's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 43 cities across Mississippi. They are spread across 32 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include Jackson, Greenwood, De Kalb, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of Mississippi who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of Mississippi who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in Mississippi, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across Mississippi to find the nearest location.

Practical Notes for Visiting or Reporting Concerns Near Mississippi Plants

Most Mississippi plants are working industrial sites, not visitor attractions. Fences, badge checks and camera systems are standard, and nuclear and gas facilities add extra security zones. Photographing equipment from a public road can still draw questions from site security, so stay on public property and be ready to explain what you are doing.

If you spot a problem, match it to the right contact. A downed line or the smell of gas is an emergency: call 911 first, then the utility. A recurring noise, odor or smoke complaint about an industrial site goes to MDEQ. A billing or service complaint against Entergy Mississippi or Mississippi Power goes to the Public Service Commission, but only after you have tried the company directly.

Timing matters too. Summer demand peaks in July and August, and hurricane season runs from June through November. Utility offices may close early ahead of storms, so handle bills, deposits and paperwork before a forecast turns bad.

Mailing addresses can also differ from the physical plant site, and several listings give only a county road or a highway number. When in doubt, check the address against a utility map or call the county emergency management office before you set out.

Power Plant Questions Mississippi Residents Ask

Call the company that sends your bill. Entergy Mississippi, Mississippi Power, your local electric power association and your city's utility each run their own outage line, and the number is printed on your bill and usually on the company website. If you see a downed line, stay well away from it, keep others back and call 911 before calling the utility. The Public Service Commission does not restore power. It only steps in when a service complaint remains unresolved. Report your outage even if neighbors already have, because crews rely on individual reports to locate damage.

It depends on who supplies your power. For investor-owned utilities such as Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power, the Mississippi Public Service Commission takes complaints and decides rate cases, while the Public Utilities Staff reviews the filings. For a municipal utility such as Greenwood Utilities, your appeal route is the city council or utility board. For an electric power association, contact the cooperative's board, which members elect. Whichever applies, complain to the company first, keep dates and copies of letters, and escalate with that paper trail. Written complaints usually get a clearer response than phone calls.

Not by showing up at the gate. Grand Gulf, listed on Grand-Gulf Road near Port Gibson in Claiborne County, is a secured nuclear site, and gas, coal and refinery sites also limit entry to employees and contractors. If you are a student, teacher or community group, contact the owner's community relations office well in advance and ask whether tours or speakers are offered. Safety concerns about a nuclear plant can be reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which maintains inspectors at reactor sites. Never walk onto plant property or fly a drone over it, since both can bring serious legal trouble.

Start with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, which issues air and water permits through its Office of Pollution Control and keeps the files as public records. Search by the facility's name and county, such as Red Hills Generating Facility in Choctaw County, or request the file directly. Permits list emission limits, monitoring duties and reporting requirements. If you want copies, put the request in writing under the Mississippi Public Records Act and be specific about the facility and dates. For federal matters like nuclear safety or interstate pipeline operations, contact the NRC or federal pipeline regulators instead of MDEQ.

The category covers energy facilities, not only utility-owned generating stations. Ergon Refining Vicksburg in Warren County, Chevron's Pascagoula site in Jackson County and the Transco District 70 pipeline office in Tylertown are industrial or pipeline sites that appear in this category. Hattiesburg Solar Farm, Sumrall I Solar Farm and the Gulfport Naval Base PV system are solar installations. Because each type has different regulators and contacts, read the listing name first. A refinery question goes to the company and MDEQ, a solar farm question to its owner, and a utility customer problem to your provider.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left much of the coast without electricity for days and shaped how coastal utilities plan. Facilities such as Plant Watson, listed at 10406 Lorraine Road in Biloxi, and the Gulfport Naval Base solar system sit in a surge-prone region, so owners design around wind and flooding risk and bring in mutual-aid crews after landfall. For your household, sign up for alerts from your county emergency management office and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, charge devices early, and never run a generator indoors or in a garage, because carbon monoxide can kill within minutes.