Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (2026)
Certificate of public convenience and necessity required; exceptions; complaints prompting hearing as to adequacy of service
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) No person shall construct, acquire, extend or operate equipment for manufacture, mixing, generating, transmitting or distributing natural or manufactured gas, or mixed gas, or water, for any intrastate sale to or for the public for compensation, or for the operation of a public utility operating a business and equipment or facilities as contemplated by subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (d) of Section 77-3-3, without first having obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require the operation of such equipment or facility.
- (2) No person shall construct, acquire, extend or operate equipment for manufacture, generating, transmitting or distributing electricity for any intrastate or interstate sale to or for the public for compensation without first having obtained from the commission a certificate that the present and future public convenience and necessity require or will require the operation of such equipment or facility. Provided, however, nothing herein contained shall be construed to require a joint municipal electric power agency organized in accordance with the provisions of Section 77-5-201 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, to obtain any permit, license, certificate or approval from the Mississippi Public Service Commission.
- (3) No person shall construct, acquire, extend or operate equipment or facilities for collecting, transmitting, treating or disposing of sewage, or otherwise operating an intrastate sewage disposal service, to or for the public for compensation, without first having obtained from the commission a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require the operation of such equipment or facilities.
- (4) However, nothing herein shall be construed to require any certificate of convenience and necessity from the commission for the production and gathering of natural gas, the sale of natural gas in or within the vicinity of the field where produced, the distribution or sale of liquefied petroleum gas, the sale of natural gas to the ultimate consumer for use as a motor vehicle fuel, or for the facilities and equipment utilized in any such operations.
- (5) Upon complaints filed by not less than ten percent (10%) of the total subscribers or three thousand five hundred (3,500) subscribers of a public utility, whichever is less, then the commission shall hold a hearing on the adequacy of service as contemplated in Section 77-3-21.
- (6) With respect to any facility or contract for a facility serving a customer under Section 22 of this act, nothing in this section shall supersede the provisions of Section 22 of this act.
Codes, 1942, §§ 7716-05, 7716-45; Laws, 1956, ch. 372, § 5; Laws, 1968, ch. 502, § 3; Laws, 1983, ch. 467, § 9; Laws, 1985, ch. 446; Laws, 1990, ch. 530, § 38; Laws, 1993, ch. 304, § 2, eff. 7/1/1993.
Amended by Laws, 2024EX2, ch. 3, SB 2001,§ 24, eff. 1/30/2024.
Brought forward by Laws, 2023, ch. 352, HB 1060,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11
cases, 1990–2011 · leading case: Town of Enter. v. MS Pub. Serv. COM'N, 782 So. 2d 733 (Miss. 2001).
Town of Enter. v. MS Pub. Serv. COM'N, 782 So. 2d 733 (Miss. 2001). “The Clarke County Chancery Court was correct in affirming the order of the Commission, as it was based on substantial evidence and did not exceed the statutory authority vested in the Commission by Miss.Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (2000). Its decision was not against the manifest weight…”
Green v. Cleary Water, Sewer & Fire Dist., 17 So. 3d 559 (Miss. 2009). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (5) (Rev.2001).”
DEDEAUX Util. CO. v. City of Gulfport, 63 So. 3d 514 (Miss. 2011). “As the Certificate is required by statute in order to provide water and sewer services, it is undoubtedly “an element of value.”
Am. Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Purcell Co., Inc., 606 So. 2d 93 (Miss. 1990). “Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (1) (Supp. 1989).”
Miss. State Tax Com'n v. Moselle Fuel Co., 568 So. 2d 720 (Miss. 1990). “Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (Supp. 1989). The terms "public utility" *724 and "public service corporation" seem synonymous.”
Town of Enter. v. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n (Miss. 2000). “Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (2000). The certificate specifies the exact area to be served and grants the utility receiving it the right to serve that area.”
Harold L. Green v. Cleary Water, Sewer & Fire Dist. (Miss. 2008). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (5) (Rev. 2001).”
Dedeaux Util. Co., Inc. v. City of Gulfport, Mississippi (Miss. 2008). “See also Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (1) & (3) (Rev.”
Mississippi Valley Gas Co. v. City of Pontotoc, 795 So. 2d 519 (Miss. 2001). “Municipal and investor-owned facilities alike are required to obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity before operating or constructing public utilities, unless exempted by law.”
Forest Woods Util. Co. v. Siwell Util. Co., 798 So. 2d 616 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001). “Siwell is a Mississippi corporation that exclusively provides sewer service to residents of a specified area of Hinds County, Mississippi by virtue of a certificate of public convenience and necessity granted to it by the Mississippi Public *618 Service Commission several years…”
Mississippi Valley Gas Co. v. City of Pontotoc, Mississippi (Miss. 2000). “Municipal and investor-owned facilities alike are required to obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity before operating or constructing public utilities, unless exempted by law. Because we conclude that the City of Pontotoc was not exempted here and the Commission…”
Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11(1): 3 cases
Town of Enter. v. MS Pub. Serv. COM'N, 782 So. 2d 733 (Miss. 2001). “The Clarke County Chancery Court was correct in affirming the order of the Commission, as it was based on substantial evidence and did not exceed the statutory authority vested in the Commission by Miss.Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (2000). Its decision was not against the manifest weight…”
DEDEAUX Util. CO. v. City of Gulfport, 63 So. 3d 514 (Miss. 2011). “As the Certificate is required by statute in order to provide water and sewer services, it is undoubtedly “an element of value.”
Town of Enter. v. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n (Miss. 2000). “Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11 (2000). The certificate specifies the exact area to be served and grants the utility receiving it the right to serve that area.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-11(3): 1 case
Forest Woods Util. Co. v. Siwell Util. Co., 798 So. 2d 616 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001). “Siwell is a Mississippi corporation that exclusively provides sewer service to residents of a specified area of Hinds County, Mississippi by virtue of a certificate of public convenience and necessity granted to it by the Mississippi Public *618 Service Commission several years…”
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