Lower interest rates and higher sales of byproducts could allow Mississippi Power Co. to make up for higher costs at the Kemper County power plant it’s building.
That’s what Tom Fanning, the CEO Mississippi Power parent Southern Co., told investors last month.
Southern Co. won’t say how much it believes it has saved. But the company says it’s borrowing money at lower interest rates than originally planned, and projects it will be able to sell byproducts for more than planned.
Officials say that could mean customers won’t have to pay more to cover the plant’s cost, which has risen from $2.4 billion to more than $2.8 billion.
Mississippi Power says rates will rise about 30 percent to pay for the plant, though opponents say it will be more.