Jackson Free Press

[Verbatim From AG's Office, Oct. 23, 2008] Jackson, MS--Today, United States District Judge William H. Barbour denied Entergy's attempt to stop Attorney General Hood from seeking to obtain records of their energy purchases, clearing the way for the Attorney General's Office to demand their release before a state court on Monday.

The Attorney General's Office contends that these records will show the same self-dealing as the courts found against Entergy in Louisiana.

"It is a shame that a company like Entergy, which serves hundreds of thousands of Mississippi ratepayers, would want to waste the court's time attempting to hide records they should be proud to release if they did not exhibit self-dealing among Entergy subsidiaries," said Attorney General Jim Hood. "We look forward to our hearing before Judge Dewayne Thomas Monday (October 27) in state court where we will ask Judge Thomas to order this monopoly to fully disclose the documents we have requested. If they have nothing to hide, why not put their records on the table."

Entergy had initially sought a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court to stop General Hood's request, but federal Judge William Barbour ruled today that Entergy would suffer no irreperable harm from arguing the case in state court. Barbour also found that a chancery court offered Entergy an appropriate means to raise its objections to releasing the requested information.

The Attorney General's Office has described Entergy's business practices as a "shell game," in which the utility buys electricity and fuel for Mississippi at inflated rates from its sister companies in neighboring states and then overcharges Mississippi customers.

General Hood pointed to three cases in Louisiana and Texas in which Entergy has been accused of engaging in deceptive pricing schemes and of overcharging its customers. Two of these cases have already resulted in the refund of over one hundred million dollars to ratepayers in Louisiana, and the third is pending. These cases, he said, provide reason to believe that Entergy is violating Mississippi laws.

The Attorney General's Office, which has statutory authority under the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act to investigate Entergy Mississippi's dealings, has asked the company for pricing information along with information about its fuel buying and selling primarily for the past 10 years.

"Once again, we ask the question: If Entergy has nothing to hide in Mississippi, then it should be eager to release the documents we have requested and show our ratepayers that they are not being overcharged, especially during these times of economic hardship," General Hood said.

Previous Comments

ID

139716

Comment

Now that's some real sh*t. Keep it real Jim. Thanks for your courage.

Author

daniel johnson

Date

2008-10-24T22:48:45-06:00

ID

140045

Comment

Finally a state official that seems interested in his job. Thank you and please keep up the hard work. For too long, Entergy has had the state of Mississippi eating out of it's palms. It is about time the Public Service Commission starts fulfilling its charge to protect the citizens of Mississippi instead of being Entergy's lapdog.

Author

hotboyms

Date

2008-10-30T21:19:41-06:00