Mississippi’s public service commission planned to move forward with a show-cause hearing against the city of Holly Springs following a recent ruling by the state’s supreme court, but a lower court’s ruling has stymied the process.
Back in November, the commission scheduled the public hearing concerning utility services provided by the Holly Springs Utility Department (HSUD) to take place on January 7. The city of Holly Springs, which manages the HSUD, filed a petition seeking to reschedule the meeting to a date after the 2025 Mississippi legislative session wraps up.
Petitioners first went to the commission to have the hearing delayed. That request was denied. The attorney representing the city of Holly Springs, State Sen. Bradford Blackmon, took to the Mississippi Supreme Court seeking relief, largely due to the fact that he has a conflict of interest and is constitutionally obligated to be present during the session.
Nonetheless, the state’s high court denied the city’s petition, allowing for proceedings to be carried out at the Woolfolk Building in downtown Jackson as originally scheduled. But the court’s order left the door open for Holly Springs’ legal counsel to seek a temporary restraining order in the Hinds County Circuit Court — and that they did.
“While we respect the judicial process, we believe that the delay caused by the [temporary restraining order] is not in the best interest of those suffering in the Holly Springs Utility District despite the best efforts of this commission to obtain cooperation from the City,” Mississippi’s three-member commission stated.
“The Commission will set the hearing after the 2025 Regular Legislative Session in order to expedite a resolution and avoid further delay tactics and exhaustive legal battles which contribute nothing to providing relief.”
Customers of the HSUD have long voiced concerns over the quality of services rendered, with some citing days-long power outages. Additionally, there are “hot spots” in which vegetation has grown along power lines, subsequently causing parasitic power loss or outright power failures.
The show-cause hearing was called to bring Holly Springs representatives to the table to explain to investigators and other public officials why they should not be found in violation of regulations requiring HSUD to provide adequate services to its customers.
According to Northern District Commissioner Chris Brown, the call for a public hearing follows customer complaints and alleged non-compliance with an independent audit conducted by a private firm. Back in August, the commission announced that Pennsylvania firm Silverpoint Consulting had been selected to look into the operational side of the HSUD while the Tennessee Valley Authority reviewed the utility provider’s finances.
Brown said the commission has been adhering to newly passed Senate Bill 2453, which expands the commission’s authority over public utility providers, in having a third party assess HSUD’s scope of services in an attempt to offer solutions to resolve ongoing issues. Nevertheless, Brown contended that those efforts have proven fruitless as city officials have refused to comply with the independent auditors.
“The city has not been cooperative,” Commissioner Chris Brown, a former state legislator, said on The Gallo Show. “We actually sent a subpoena to try to get to the bottom of it. We subpoenaed four or five of the city employees. They had a motion to quash, so they did not even show up. They don’t even want to talk to us or anything else.”
Other concerns with HSUD’s services levied by the Public Service Commission include a lack of utility management, system maintenance, technical and engineering expertise, and inadequate storm response.
On the financial side, the city of Holly Springs has been found to be paying more for wholesale power from the Tennessee Valley Authority than the city had been receiving in payments from ratepayers. This stymies the city’s ability to pay for much-needed repairs that could remedy conditions playing a role in HSUD’s alleged shortcomings.
“It was testified to us by TVA that, of the whole TVA valley, over 130-140 systems that they oversee, this one creates over 80% of their complaints, but the city has chosen to say that they don’t have a problem,” Brown stated during Tuesday’s public meeting.
“We want to help them solve the problem because we’re hearing the voices of the people in the Holly Springs Utility District. We’ve heard their stories and we’re not going to turn our backs on them.”
If state authorities determine that HSUD is incapable of delivering adequate services, the commission can take its case to a judge. The judge would have a multitude of options, one of which could be to prevent HSUD from providing services further than one mile beyond its corporate boundaries.
More than 80% of HSUD’s users live outside of Holly Springs city limits, yet they have no representation when decisions are made regarding utilities.
A new show-cause hearing date has not been set at this time. This is a developing story.
