Mississippi Power

Mississippi Power Company was founded in 1925. In 1949, Southern Company was established as a holding company for four utilities, one of which included Mississippi Power Company.

Formerly known as Mississippi Power Company from 1925 to 1976, the company shortened to Mississippi Power, and has maintained that name ever since.

Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck, taking down the company's electric systems and leaving every single customer without service. With a team of 12,000 - employees and crews from every state and Canada, they were able to restore service to all who could receive it in only 12 days. The severity of the storm has cautioned Mississippi Power with every future investment it has made. Most noticeably is the location of the Kemper Project, which was purposefully selected to be comfortably located miles from the Gulf. It is no wonder that the Kemper Project, officially named Plant Ratcliffe, was named after the 2005 Southern Company CEO, David Ratcliffe.

in 2007, Mississippi Power teamed with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to begin restocking the Pascagoula River after Hurricane Katrina's massive fish kill by releasing more than 2,500 largemouth bass advanced fingerlings.

On the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi Power Storm Director Stephen Schruff joined WXXV News 25 to discuss the days following the storm and what lessons were learned in the aftermath.

Transmission and distribution facilities

Mississippi Power maintains 147 substations, 2,118 miles of transmission lines, 4,213 miles of primary overhead lines and 560 miles of primary underground lines. Total generating capacity is 3,098,692 kW.

Former plants

The Eaton Electric Generating Plant was a three-unit natural gas-fired power plant located in Petal, Mississippi. Each of the three units generated 22.5 Megawatts (MW) of electricity, with a total plant capacity of 67.5 MW. The plant drew cooling water from the Leaf River.

Named for Barney Eaton, Mississippi Power's first president, the plant was the first high-pressure steam plant in the state of Mississippi and the first plant built by Mississippi Power Company. Plant Eaton made headlines when it was built in 1945, as it was the largest and most modern plant of its day. The first unit came on line on March 22, 1945.

Originally, Plant Eaton was intended to generate electricity to aid the United States in production of materials for World War II; however, the plant's largest contribution turned out to be producing power for the boom in electricity demanded following the war. As of the late 1990s, its use was limited to meeting peak demands during the summer.

Mississippi Power Supreme Court Ruling

In February 2015, the Supreme Court of Mississippi found the agreement to raise rates during construction of the plant between the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) and Mississippi Power to be unlawful. The court cited the MPSC's failure to give proper notice to the public about the rate increase as one of the main reasons for the 5–4 ruling. Mississippi Power disagreed with the ruling, and officially announced that it planned to file for a rehearing. The original basis for the agreement between MPSC and Mississippi Power in March 2013 was a result of powers granted in the state's 2008 Baseload Act. This act allows public utilities to collect Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) funds to encourage long term investments by public utility companies.