Our state, I am pleased to report, is making substantial progress in the development of merchant electric power plants. These are electric generating facilities that will not only supply Mississippi s need for electric power, but will be a competitive exporter of power to other areas. Attorney Wilson Montjoy, whose firm Brunini, Grantham, Grower and Hewes represents many of the power plants, says, Mississippi is dissimilar to California, where the state discouraged power plant construction and is suffering the consequences of being dependent upon imported power. The Mississippi Public Service Commission has identified over 12,000 megawatts of new merchant power under development, compared with approximately 7,000 megawatts of utility owned generation currently in the state. As a result, says Mr. Montjoy, Mississippi will generate sufficient power to meet its own needs and to be a substantial exporter for years to come.
Excess capacity means adequate supply, reliability and competitive pricing of wholesale power.
As you can see in the table below, which appears on the Mississippi Public Service Commission web page, most of these facilities bring development to less-populated areas where the economic benefit is likely to be significant. M All of the merchant electric power plants currently under construction are expected to be operational during this calendar year.