JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi regulators want to pull the plug on a first-of-its-kind power plant that was supposed to burn coal more cleanly, saying one of the nation's largest utilities should absorb $6.5 billion in losses and ratepayers should pay nothing more.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission on Wednesday gave Mississippi Power Co. 45 days to agree to a settlement of rate matters regarding its $7.5 billion Kemper County power plant.
Mississippi Power is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co.
The three elected commissioners say the plant should burn only natural gas, as it has mostly done since 2014. They also want rates to at least stay level for customers, and preferably go down.
Parts of the plant, originally projected to cost $2.9 billion, remain incomplete, more than three years behind schedule.
