Entergy Mississippi, Inc.(NYSE:EMZ) dropped from S&P Preferred Stock Index

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. has completed the purchase of the Hinds Energy Facility, a modern, 450 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in Jackson. The acquisition will boost the utility's electric generation capacity and offer significant savings for its customers. The company bought the plant from KGen Hinds LLC for approximately $206 million, a sizeable discount to the cost to construct a comparable facility. The purchase provides the opportunity for the company's customers to realize significant cost savings. Plans to acquire the Hinds plant were first announced in 2011. The plant purchase is Entergy Mississippi's first since 2006 and supports the company's strategy of providing reliable electric service at the lowest reasonable cost. Low cost power and ample energy supply will also make the city and state more competitive in attracting new or expanded business and industry to the state. The Hinds plant is an environmentally friendly resource, and its addition to Entergy Mississippi will make one of the cleanest-burning utility generation fleets in the country even cleaner.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi has denied the state attorney general's motion to remand a lawsuit against Entergy Mississippi, Inc. and other Entergy companies to state Chancery Court. Under the ruling, the lawsuit will continue to be addressed by the U.S. District Court. The suit challenges Entergy's fuel purchasing and power allocation practices. However, since 2008 when the suit was first filed, a total of eight audits have all concluded that there were no inappropriate charges by Entergy Mississippi to its customers. Five independent consulting or auditing firms conducted seven of the audits and the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff conducted its own audit. All five firms were hired by the Mississippi Public Service Commission, and two of the firms were hired at the attorney general's urging.