Mississippi and The Clean Power Plan
Health Concerns
 The American Lung Association (ALA) estimates that out of the 2.9 million Mississippi
residents, 1 million are at risk for developing serious respiratory conditions due to air
pollution and ground-level ozone.i
o Conditions include adult and pediatric asthma, cardiovascular (CV) disease,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes, all with an inherent
potential for fatalityii
o DeSoto County residents were exposed to 5 day(s) above the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for daily 8-hour maximum ozone concentration
in 2010iii
Disproportionate Harm
 The poverty rate near coal plants in Mississippi is 26.5%, which is more than twice the
national average (12.9%)iv
Economic Benefits
 In 2013 MS Public Service Commission published Rule 29, establishing Mississippi’s
first state-wide utility energy efficiency programsv
o The rule allows utilities to tailor energy efficiency programs to the individual
needs of each customer class, and will lead to helping improve grid reliability to
meet energy demands, lower energy bills, and open the door to new economic and
workforce development opportunitiesvi
 http://www.psc.state.ms.us/executive/rules/rule29.html (full rule)
 The MS economic impact statement ("EIS") indicated that energy efficiency initiatives
under Rule 29 could more than offset the 3% forecasted growth in energy consumption
from 2010 to 2030vii
 Energy efficiency initiatives could create 6,900 jobs annually by 2020 and 9,500 jobs
annually by 2030.viii
 EIS found that the rule is expected to have a positive impact on small business and that
the savings would be cost-effective based on the Total Resource Cost Test (TRC)ix
o The TRC is one of 4 cost-benefit tests established by the California Standards and
Practices Manual: Economic Analysis of Demand Side Programs and Projectsx

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that efficiency
could cost-effectively meet 12.8% of the state's electricity demand by 2025, and by that
time, these savings will result in $4.3 billion in net economic output:xi
o $1.1 billion in wages, $825 million in income to small business owners, 32,800
person-years of employment, and increased state and local tax revenue by $80
million.xii
Utility Costs & Reliability
 Energy efficiency is the least-cost resource even without considering carbon dioxide
emissions or the CPP: xiii
o ACEEE modeled energy efficiency portfolios for MS in 2013 (Research Report
E13M) and found that the cost would be about 2-4 cents per kWh, compared to an
avoided cost of electricity supply of 4-9 cents per kWh through 2025xiv
 Mississippi's utilities have shown that they can meet the EPA energy efficiency target:
o In the calculation of building block number four (Demand Side Management),
EPA assumes that Mississippi can, ramping up from 2017, achieve energy
efficiency impacts of 1.5% of prior year retail sales from 2025-2030xv
 In Mississippi, Alcorn County Electric Power Association achieved 1.22% savings in
2013, more than the EPA suggests the state capture in 2022.xvi
 Based on the savings projected in the companies' QuickStart Plans, and the energy
savings achieved by Mississippi's electric cooperatives, the state is likely to be ahead of
schedule in meeting the energy savings target proposed by the EPA.xvii
o MSPC approved QuickStart Energy Efficiency Plans in 2014 proposed by
Entergy Mississippi Inc. (EMI) and Mississippi Power Company (MPC) in
compliance with the MPSC's Rule 29. xviii
o The QuickStart Plans allow for Mississippi to get a head start on complying with
the CPP energy efficiency goals, and will enable customers to save money while
reducing carbon emissions.xix
 EMI and MPC projected that the companies' QuickStart Plans will achieve incremental
savings in 2016 of 0.26% and 0.17%, respectivelyxx
o [The EPA has called for Mississippi to achieve incremental energy savings of just
0.07% by 2017, with a 0.20% per year pace of improvement until 2025]xxi
Energy Potential



Solar energy is Mississippi's most abundant renewable energy resource. NREL estimates
that Mississippi has a utility-scale solar PV technical potential of nearly 2,900 GW, or
over 9,000% of the state's 2012 net generation.xxii
o The U.S. Department of Energy reported Mississippi as having over one GW-ac
by 2030, or enough to meet about 3.3% of the state's 2012 net generation.xxiii
NREL now estimates Mississippi may contain well over 25,000 MW (25 GW) of wind
energy potential as well with over 40% capacity factorsxxiv
Mississippi may also have additional out-of-state wind energy resources available. Two
high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines, each capable of carrying several
thousand MW of new wind energy capacity, are planned to connect wind energy
resources from Oklahoma and Texas with Memphis, Tennessee and northern
Mississippixxv
o Due to the higher wind speeds and new technologies, the cost of wind energy
resources from these HVDC projects will be extremely cost competitive.xxvi
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Director of Policy
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
www.weact.org
Copyright © 2015, WE ACT for Environmental Justice
i
http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/states/mississippi/
ibid
iii
http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/InfoByLocation/
iv
http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2011/communities-of-color-poverty-bear-burden-of-air-pollution
v
http://www.seealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/MS_QuickStartSummary-Jan-2015-FINAL.pdf
vi
Ibid
vii
http://www.psc.state.ms.us/InsiteConnect/InSiteView.aspx?model=INSITE_CONNECT&queue=CTS_ARCHIVE
Q&docid=339436
viii
Ibid
ix
Ibid
x
http://www.seealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/MS_QuickStartSummary-Jan-2015-FINAL.pdf
xi
http://aceee.org/press/2013/11/mississippi-emerging-regional-leader
xii
http://www.psc.state.ms.us/InsiteConnect/InSiteView.aspx?model=INSITE_CONNECT&queue=CTS_ARCHIVE
Q&docid=339436
xiii
Ibid
xiv
Ibid
xv
Ibid
xvi
Ibid
xvii
Ibid
xviii
Ibid
xix
Ibid
ii
xx
Ibid
Ibid
xxii
Ibid
xxiii
Ibid
xxiv
Ibid
xxv
Ibid
xxvi
Ibid
xxi