Mississippi § 77-5-235 - Rates; limitations on disconnections; attaching entities.

§ 77-5-235. Rates; limitations on disconnections; attaching entities.

A corporation shall have the power to fix, adjust, charge, collect and pay reasonable rates for electric energy and other facilities, supplies, equipment, products, commodities, goods and services furnished by, offered by or furnished to the corporation. All rates of a corporation formed or operating under the provisions of this article shall be established by the corporation’s board and shall not be regulated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a corporation shall be subject to commission regulations that limit disconnections of service during freeze warnings or excessive heat warnings issued by the National Weather Service, limit disconnections of service in life-threatening situations certified by a medical doctor, or establish initial deposit requirements for certified victims of domestic violence. Nothing herein shall be construed to impair the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s jurisdiction and authority, if any, to require corporations to establish, offer or participate in energy efficiency or net metering programs, but in no event shall the commission set or establish the level of expenditures, compensation or credits associated with a corporation’s energy efficiency, net metering or other programs. As used in this section, “attaching entity” means a cable television system or provider of telecommunications service. Nothing in this article shall be construed to impair the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s jurisdiction and authority that existed prior to July 1, 2016, if any, with regard to a corporation’s rates, terms and conditions for attachments by an attaching entity to poles owned or controlled by the corporation. A corporation may only deny an attaching entity access to its owned or controlled poles on a nondiscriminatory basis if there is insufficient capacity or for reasons of safety and reliability and if the attaching entity will not resolve the issue. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a corporation from requiring an attaching entity to enter into a pole attachment agreement consistent with this section. A corporation’s rates for energy furnished or offered by the corporation shall be sufficient at all times to pay all operating and maintenance expenses necessary or desirable for the prudent conduct and operation of its business and to pay the principal of and interest on such obligations as the corporation may have issued and/or assumed in the performance of the purpose for which it was formed. The revenues and receipts of a corporation shall first be devoted to such operating and maintenance expenses and to the payment of such principal and interest and thereafter to such reserves for improvement, new construction, depreciation and contingencies as the board may from time to time prescribe. Revenues and receipts not needed for these purposes shall be returned to the members by such means as the board may decide, including through the reimbursement of membership fees, the implementation of general rate reductions, the limitation or avoidance of future rate increases, or such other means as the board may determine.