Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (2026)

Declaration of policy

✓ current as of July 2026

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(1) The Legislature finds and determines that the rates, services and operations of public utilities as defined in this title are affected with the public interest and that the availability of an adequate and reliable service by such public utilities to the people, economy and government of the State of Mississippi is a matter of public policy. The Legislature hereby declares to be the policy of the State of Mississippi:
- (a) To provide fair regulation of public utilities in the interest of the public;
- (b) To promote the inherent advantage of regulated public utilities;
- (c) To promote adequate, reliable and economical service to all citizens and residents of the state;
- (d) To provide just and reasonable rates and charges for public utility services without unjust discrimination, undue preferences or advantages, or unfair or destructive competitive practices and consistent with long-term management and conservation of energy resources by avoiding wasteful, uneconomic and inefficient uses of energy;
- (e) To encourage and promote harmony between public utilities, their users and the environment;
- (f) To foster the continued service of public utilities on a well-planned and coordinated basis that is consistent with the level of service needed for the protection of public health and safety and for the promotion of the general welfare;
- (g) To cooperate with other states and the federal government in promoting and coordinating interstate and intrastate public utility service and reliability;
- (h) To encourage the continued study and research for new and innovative rate-making procedures which will protect the state, the public, the ratepayers and the utilities, and where possible reduce the costs of the rate-making process; and
- (i) With respect to rate-regulated public utilities, to foster, encourage, enable and facilitate economic development in the State of Mississippi, to support and augment economic development activities, to expand deployment of existing and emerging technologies, including fiber-optic infrastructure which will foster a more reliable and resilient utility delivery system and provide customer access to enhanced services, to authorize and empower the Public Service Commission in carrying out its statutory responsibilities, and to take every opportunity to advance the economic development of the state.

(2) To these ends, therefore, authority shall be vested in the Mississippi Public Service Commission to regulate public utilities in accordance with the provisions of this title.

(3)
- (a) The commission shall, in addition to its other powers and duties, be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to consider and adopt a formula type rate of return evaluation rate which may include provision for the commission to:
  - (i) Periodically review and adjust, if required, the utility's level of revenues based upon the actual books and records of the utility which are periodically the subject of independent audits and regulatory audits;
  - (ii) Review the utility's performance in certain areas or categories which may be used by the commission in the manner selected by it which may include rate incentives or penalties so long as such are found to be fair and reasonable and result in a level of revenue which is fair and reasonable; and
  - (iii) Use such other provisions which may be permitted by this chapter.
- (b) When a formula type rate of return evaluation rate with periodic revenue adjustments is adopted by the commission, each periodic revenue adjustment will be separately considered for the purpose of determining whether a hearing is required pursuant to Section 77-3-39(1), and no such hearing shall be required if the amount of any separate periodic adjustment to the level of revenues of the utility is not a "major change" as defined in Section 77-3-37(8).
- (c) In administering any such formula type rate of return evaluation rate, the following procedures shall be observed by the commission:
  - (i) Each periodic evaluation shall be supported with a sworn filing by the utility incorporating the data specified in the formula rate adopted by the commission, and such data shall be verified by the commission; and
  - (ii) A hearing shall be required, as provided by law, to determine compliance with the formula rate plan and the accuracy of the data prior to any change in the level of revenues if the cumulative change in any calendar year exceeds the greater of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) or four percent (4%) of the annual revenues of the utility.
- (d) The requirements of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection and other applicable provisions of Title 77, Chapter 3, Article 1, Mississippi Code of 1972, which are observed by the commission in administering such rate, are hereby declared to be procedural but are not required to be included in the rate itself.

(4) It is the intention of the Legislature to validate, retroactively to its initial adoption by the commission, any formula type rate, including any revenue adjustments effected pursuant thereto, which has heretofore been adopted by the commission. For the purposes of the retroactive validation and the administration of any formula type rate heretofore adopted by the commission, should the provisions of Title 77, Chapter 3, Article 1, Mississippi Code of 1972, conflict with any provisions of such formula type rate, Title 77, Chapter 3, Article 1, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall be interpreted to prevail and the formula type rate shall hereafter be administered or revised to conform to Title 77, Chapter 3, Article 1, Mississippi Code of 1972; provided, however, such conflict, if any, shall not be held to invalidate the retroactive effect of this section upon such rate.

Laws, 1983, ch. 467, § 3; Laws, 1989, ch. 304, § 1; Laws, 1990 Ex Sess, ch. 48, § 1, eff. 6/30/1990.

Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 477, SB 2798,§ 1, eff. 4/22/2021.

Amended by Laws, 2015, ch. 360, SB 2093, 2, eff. 7/1/2015.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1985–2024 · leading case: Mississippi Power & Light Co. & Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. United Gas Pipe Line Co., 760 F.2d 618 (5th Cir. 1985).

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Mississippi Power & Light Co. & Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. United Gas Pipe Line Co., 760 F.2d 618 (5th Cir. 1985). “Miss.Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (Supp.1984). The Chairman of the Commission, who has testified concerning the Act on numerous occasions, stated that one of the primary obligations of the new legislation was to prevent charges from being passed on to any consumers before some judicial or…”

Mississippi Rural Water Ass'n, Inc v. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 222 So. 3d 288 (Miss. 2017). · cites it 4× “However, the MPSC shall not “have jurisdiction to regulate the rates for the sales and/or distribution .”

Tucker v. Hinds Cnty., 558 So. 2d 869 (Miss. 1990). “Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (Supp. 1989). The PSC shall also "have power to prescribe, issue, amend and rescind such reasonable rules and regulations as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this article.”

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. v. Burdette Gin Co., 726 So. 2d 1202 (Miss. 1998). “Entergy contends that MPSC approval for inclusion of the indemnity clause in its Agreement for Service is sufficient to remove the contract from the definition of void as a matter of public policy.”

State Ex Rel. Pittman v. Pub. Serv. Com'n, 538 So. 2d 367 (Miss. 1989). · cites it 2× “This section in part provides that the public policy is: (a) To provide fair regulation of public utilities in the interest of the public; (b) To promote the inherent advantage of regulated public utilities; (c) To promote adequate, reliable and economical service to all…”

DEDEAUX Util. CO. v. City of Gulfport, 938 So. 2d 838 (Miss. 2006). “Until Gulfport assumed the operation of the plant, Dedeaux operated as a "for profit" [3] utility which, under Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (Rev.2000), is regulated by the Public Service Commission.”

Mississippi Rural Water Ass'n, Inc v. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n (Miss. 2017). · cites it 2× “However, the MPSC shall not “have jurisdiction to regulate the rates for the sales and/or distribution .”

Rankin Cnty., Mississippi v. Mississippi Pub. Serv. Comm'n & Entergy Mississippi, LLC (Miss. 2024). · cites it 2× “Formula rate plans may “[p]eriodically review and adjust, if required, the utility’s level of revenues based upon the actual books and records of the utility which are periodically the subject of independent audits and regulatory audits[.”

Dedeaux Util. Co., Inc. v. City of Gulfport (Miss. 2004). “Until Gulfport assumed the operation of the plant, Dedeaux operated as a “for profit”3 utility which, under Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (Rev. 2000), is regulated by the Public Service Commission.”

Mississippi Valley Gas Co. v. City of Pontotoc, 795 So. 2d 519 (Miss. 2001). “An equally important policy, however, is that expressly outlined by the Legislature in Miss.Code Ann. § 77-3-2(l)(d)(2000) — that public utility rates will be provided “without unjust discrimination, undue preferences or advantages, or unfair or destructive competitive practices…”

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. v. Burdette Gin Co. (Miss. 1997). “Entergy contends that MPSC approval for inclusion of the indemnity clause in its Agreement for Service is sufficient to remove the contract from the definition of void as a matter of public policy. Under Section 77-3-2, the Mississippi Legislature created the MPSC in order to…”

Mississippi Valley Gas Co. v. City of Pontotoc, Mississippi (Miss. 2000). “An equally important policy, however, is that expressly outlined by the Legislature in Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2 (1)(d)(2000)-- that public utility rates will be provided "without unjust discrimination, undue preferences or advantages, or unfair or destructive competitive…”

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— Miss. Code Ann. § 77-3-2(l)(d)(2000) — 1 case

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