Confusion reigned Friday as the Itta Bena Board of Aldermen met to discuss the fuel adjustment charge on Itta Bena residents’ power bills in a special called meeting.
The board learned that the Municipal Energy Association of Mississippi is no longer selling energy to the city, although it is being distributed by MEAM to the city from another wholesale provider.
Five residents showed up at the called meeting to discuss why they saw a fuel adjustment charge of roughly $186 on their bills this month. The cost raised day care owner Patricia Young’s bill to almost $400 for the home she shares with her husband, and her day care bill up to around $900, she said.
“Can you show us what we’re paying?” she asked the board. “Show us the rates we are paying, and we won’t be back up here.”
However, board members told her they didn’t know but would find out. They were uncertain about the rate being charged.
Due to a lawsuit by MEAM against the city over the latter’s longstanding delinquency, contact between its officials and the electric supplier has been slim.
Darrick Hart, Ward 3 alderman, said that MEAM has not provided the board with information that would help members explain fuel costs to residents.
It turns out that MEAM is no longer supplying Itta Bena’s energy.
MEAM CEO Geoffrey Wilson was not at the meeting but has said Itta Bena’s electricity is now provided through the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). Friday’s meeting was the first time the aldermen apparently had heard of this.
During an interview earlier Friday, Wilson said MISO is responsible for the higher energy rates to which Itta Bena residents are responding. “We can’ t do the things we normally would to mitigate prices because they’re no longer a member city,” Wilson said.
He also alleged that Itta Bena has not attempted to secure another provider of wholesale energy outside of MEAM.
For Itta Bena residents, this means energy rates are set by an outside company rather than negotiated between a company and city leadership, according to Wilson.
The security of having a lower-cost wholesale provider is putting the city in a crisis.
“Itta Bena’s on a prayer and a promise with our lights,” said resident Mary Hines.
“We need a miracle on top of a miracle,” Young added.
The aldermen did not commit to a statement about how they planned to solve the issue of Itta Bena’s higher electric bills.
Hart posed the question to the room of whether turning the city’s electricity system over to Entergy Mississippi or installing solar panels would be the best solution, but both Young and Hines reminded the board that its members were elected to make such decisions.
Hines suggested the board call a meeting for the citizens of Itta Bena to be educated on their options by energy professionals. This suggestion was considered, though no commitment was formally made to call a meeting.
Hines also suggested a quarterly meeting between the Board of Aldermen and representatives from their constituents to promote transparency and communication and eliminate confusion about what is occurring in each ward and why.
The board has agreed to look into what is the correct electricity rate and charge residents accordingly, but in the meantime, citizens wondered if they would be responsible for incorrect charges.
No clear answer was given when the board was asked whether lights would be turned off if residents refused to pay until their bills were known to be correct.
Young asked to have the numbers and documents laid out for Itta Bena residents.
“We don’t believe anything you say anymore,” she said.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
