Title 77, Public Utilities and Carriers

(1) There is established in the commission a Public Service Commission staff, which staff shall be a unit, remain as a unit therein, and be responsive to the commission. The Public Service Commission staff shall consist of a sufficient number of professional, administrative, tech…

(1) (a) Any person or corporation which willfully and knowingly violates any provision of this article or which fails, omits or neglects to obey, observe or comply with any lawful order, or any part or provision thereof, of the commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upo…

All penalties accruing under this article shall be cumulative, and a suit for the recovery of one penalty shall not be a bar to or affect the recovery of any other penalty or forfeiture or be a bar to any criminal prosecution against any public utility or any officer, director, a…

Actions to recover penalties under this article, and criminal prosecutions under subsection (2) of Section 77-3-81, shall be brought in the name of the State of Mississippi in any court of competent jurisdiction. No action for penalty under subsection (1) of Section 77-3-81 may b…

All reasonable and necessary expenses of the administration of the duties imposed on the public utilities staff and on the commission by Title 77, Mississippi Code of 1972, excluding the reasonable and necessary expenses of the administration and enforcement by the commission of …

It shall be the duty of the State Auditor to advise the commission of the amount of money on hand in the “Public Service Commission Regulation Fund” from time to time. All expenses of the commission authorized by this article, or any other act of the Legislature, shall be paid by…

The Public Service Commission shall appoint an attorney who shall assist and advise the commission in all matters affecting its powers and duties and to perform such duties and services in connection with this chapter and the enforcement thereof as the commission may require. Suc…

It shall be the duty of the commission to make and publish annual reports to the governor and the legislature as provided in Section 27-101-1, et seq., of commission activities, including copies of its general orders and regulations, comparative statistical data on the operation …

(a) The following terms when used in Sections 77-3-91 through 77-3-95 shall have the following meaning:(a) “Utility” means an entity as defined in Section 77-3-3(d)(i), Mississippi Code of 1972, and whose rates for retail electric service are subject to regulation in this state.(…

(1) Whenever a utility purchases at wholesale from a nonutility generator or some nonassociated source all or a portion of its electric capacity and/or energy requirements for a period in excess of thirty (30) days, such utility shall be entitled to include as expense items in it…

(1) Before a utility may receive the return on the cost of such capacity purchase, the utility shall report the purchase to the Public Utilities Staff and the Public Service Commission. The utility shall also send notice of the purchase to persons who have requested same and are …

(1) The Legislature finds that the conservation of water resources is vitally important to the future of our state, and that in order to enhance the conservation of water resources, it is necessary to grant specific authority for the provision of submetering of water and wastewat…

(1) In the event an eligible homeowners association elects to provide water service to its residents, the eligible municipality shall sell and convey any water assets to the homeowners association that the association deems necessary to supply its residents with water. These asse…

(a) The Legislature finds, determines and declares the following to be in the public interest and the policy of the State of Mississippi:(a) To promote and foster the prudent, timely expansion and construction of, and long-term availability of, adequate and appropriate levels of …

(a) As used in this article:(a) The term “generating facility” means a new electric public utility base load generating facility located in the State of Mississippi having, or potentially having, base load-serving characteristics and incorporating such generating technologies or …

(1) (a) The commission is fully empowered and authorized to include in an electric public utility’s rate base and rates, as used and useful components of furnishing electric service, all expenditures determined to be prudently-incurred pre-construction, construction, operating an…

(1) As used in this section:(a) The term “rate mitigation plan” means a rate plan designed to mitigate the initial rate impacts of collecting the revenue requirements associated with the inclusion of a newly constructed generating facility in rate base and rates by establishing a…

The commission is fully empowered and authorized to promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this article, which may include a preference for ownership, in whole or in part, of a generating facility by an investor-owned electric public …

(a) There is hereby created the Legislative Advisory Board on Alternate Method of Cost Recovery on Base Load Generation for the purpose of advising the Public Service Commission in the performance of its duties and to require the commission to make a written report to the advisor…

(a) As used in Sections 77-3-111 through 77-3-127:(a) “Assignee” means any person or legal entity to which an interest in security property is sold, assigned, transferred or conveyed (other than as security) and any successor to or subsequent assignee of such a person or legal en…

(1) Subject to the agreement by the affected electric public utility, the commission shall cause to be financed, consistent with the procedures set forth in Sections 77-3-111 through 77-3-127, all qualifying facility costs found to be prudent by the commission that are incurred o…

(1) Proceedings on a petition submitted pursuant to Section 77-3-113 shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of Section 77-3-47 and applicable commission procedural rules, except that the provisions of this Section 77-3-115, to the extent applicable, shall control.…

(1) In a financing order issued on behalf of an electric public utility, the commission shall:(a) Specify the maximum amount of qualifying facility cost to be financed through the issuance of rate reduction bonds.(b) Determine that the financing method proposed pursuant to Sectio…

(1) If the commission issues a financing order and rate reduction bonds are issued, the issuing entity shall, as frequently as quarterly but no less frequently than annually, file with the commission a true-up report requesting the commission to review the rate reduction bond cha…

(1) The rate reduction bond charge is a nonbypassable charge, and in the event an electric public utility subject to a financing order, as a result of insolvency, sale, a fundamental change in regulation of electric public utilities in this State, or other reason, ceases to serve…

(1) The security property shall constitute an existing, present and legally protectable property right that shall exist regardless of whether the rate reduction bond charges have been billed, have accrued, or have been collected, and notwithstanding any requirement that the value…

(1) All or any portion of the security property may be pledged or otherwise used by the issuing entity as collateral or other security to secure the payment of financing costs. Except as specifically provided in Sections 77-3-111 through 77-3-127 or in any of the financing docume…

(1) Rate reduction bonds issued under a financing order shall not constitute a debt or a pledge of the faith and credit or taxing power of the State of Mississippi or of any county, municipality, or any other political subdivision of this state. The issuing entity, assignee, bond…

The provisions of Sections 77-3-111 through 77-3-127 shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the exercise of the powers therein granted. It is the intent of the Legislature that the authority provided under Sections 77-3-111 through 77-3-127 be limited to the implem…

(a) As used in this article, the following words and phrases shall include the meanings ascribed by this section unless the context requires a different meaning:(a) “Owner” shall specifically refer to a holder of an interest in real property which is proposed to be served by a pu…

(a) If any public utility, other than a municipality, shall fail or refuse to construct within its certificated area any facilities necessary to provide public utility service, or shall fail or refuse to make written commitment to do so, within a reasonable time after written req…

If such plans or any modification thereof shall be approved by the commission as provided by paragraph (b) of Section 77-3-203, the commission may enter an order either in conjunction with such approval, if notice has sufficiently dealt with the subject matter, or pursuant to spe…

In the event an owner is authorized to construct or cause to be constructed the whole or any part of such proposed facilities pursuant to paragraph (b) of Section 77-3-203 or pursuant to such authority and Section 77-3-205, the owner may first reach written agreement with the hol…

Upon approval by the public service commission of the reasonable cost of construction of the necessary facilities for furnishing such service and the whole or a reasonable part of the expense of connecting such facilities with the system of the utility affected, the owner may app…

Before construction shall be undertaken pursuant to paragraph (b) of Section 77-3-203 or Section 77-3-205, five (5) days’ written notice shall be given to the public service commission and any other public body having lawful authority over standards of such construction, the publ…

The conveyance in whole or in part of the property affected after institution of proceedings under this article shall not divest the owner, his heirs, personal representatives, successors or assigns of his, its or their rights accrued under this article unless the same be specifi…

The transfer or assignment of the whole or any part of the public utility system of any such public utility shall not defeat any prior right of service, service connection or reimbursement accrued under this article.

The provisions of this article shall be cumulative to, and not in derogation of, Sections 77-3-21 and 77-3-29. Any proceedings under the provisions of this article before the public service commission shall be held and conducted as provided by Article 1 of this chapter. Appeals s…

(1) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings ascribed herein unless otherwise plainly indicated:(a) “Commission” means the Public Service Commission.(b) “Customer” means a retail electric customer with a project as defined in Section 57-75-5(f)(xxxiii).…

Any person, firm, copartnership or corporation doing business in the State of Mississippi and engaged in the sale or distribution of electricity, gas or water, whose rates or tariffs for such service contain any form of so-called “service charge,” shall be required to have fair a…

All bills rendered to consumers by any public service utility affected by this article shall be itemized so as to show in detail the amount of electricity, gas or water consumed and the rate per unit charged.

Any amount of money collected by any public utility in wilful violation of Section 77-3-303 may be recovered by an action at law by the consumer from whom it was collected. In addition thereto, any person, firm, copartnership or corporation violating the provisions of this articl…

(a) The provisions of this article shall not apply:(a) to municipally or privately owned plants where a flat charge only is made, and no meters are in operation;(b) to any municipally owned and/or operated public service utility, the net income of which said utility is used solel…

Upon the petition therefor by the attorney general, the Mississippi public service commission shall have jurisdiction to determine, after reasonable notice and hearing, whether any domestic telephone or telegraph public service corporation operating under the jurisdiction of the …

Upon the filing of a petition therefor by the attorney general with the public service commission, notice shall be given any such corporation requiring the corporation to appear before the commission at a day certain, not less than thirty (30) days, and to show cause why it shoul…

Upon the hearing, the testimony shall be taken by the official stenographer of the commission. The commission shall make distinct findings of fact as to: (1) whether the corporation is or is not rendering in a reasonably adequate manner the public service authorized by the corpor…