Jackson Free Press

In the Stinker Quote of the Week (Issue 43, Vol. 11, July 3-9, jfp.ms/powerplant), you presented a very inaccurate view of Mississippi Power's Kemper County energy facility. The plant is a technological marvel of which all Mississippians should be proud.

The amount our customers will pay for this environmentally responsible facility is far below the total cost of the project and not the unlimited ceiling that you suggested. While you are entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own facts. We please ask that you consider publishing these five key points about this project:

1. Mississippi Power is investing in innovation for the future of Mississippi and America. By using the nation's most abundant fuel source in an environmentally responsible process, the facility will produce the electricity essential to create jobs and help families thrive.
2. Kemper's innovative clean-coal technology, price stability and fuel diversity are better for the future of Mississippi than building another natural gas plant. The Kemper facility will use inexpensive lignite coal located right beneath our feet here in Mississippi in an innovative process that converts the lignite to gas to produce electricity. Use of this abundant resource should give Mississippi families and businesses the assurance that fluctuations in the cost of fuel or fuel availability are not expected to affect their electricity supply for decades.
3. Mississippi's economy is benefiting today and should benefit for decades to come because of the Kemper County energy facility. In addition to providing what we expect to be affordable energy for our customers for decades, the project is creating thousands of jobs, employing more than 400 Mississippi companies, and providing millions of tax dollars to state and local governments.
4. Mississippi Power customers will not pay one penny of cost above the limit agreed to by the Public Service Commission and the Legislature. The shareholders of Southern Company will pay for every penny above this limit for the company's investment in innovation and advancement in America's energy security, and Mississippi Power customers will benefit from it for decades to come. This technology represents coal's future in energy production and our commitment to a diverse fuel mix.
5. Customer bills are going up less than projected to pay for Kemper construction. When the construction certificate was approved, Mississippi Power projected customer bills would increase by more than 30 percent. Today, we are projecting the increase to be approximately 22 percent for the average retail customer. This increase is well below the outlandish 60 percent predictions made by project opponents, which is an outright misrepresentation of the facts.