Customers of the Holly Springs Utility Department have long voiced concerns over the quality of services rendered, with some citing days-long power outages. Now, governing officials plan to hold the utility provider in north Mississippi accountable.
On Thursday, the Mississippi Public Service Commission announced the start of an investigation and the scheduling of a public show-cause hearing concerning utility services provided by the Holly Springs Utility Department (HSUD), which is managed by the city of Holly Springs.
This decision follows customer complaints and alleged non-compliance with an independent audit conducted by a private firm. Back in August, the commission announced that Pennsylvania firm Silverpoint Consulting had been selected to look into the operational side of the HSUD while the Tennessee Valley Authority reviewed the utility provider’s finances.
Brown said the Public Service Commission has been adhering to newly passed Senate Bill 2453, which expands the commission’s authority over public utility providers, in having a third party assess HSUD’s scope of services in an attempt to offer solutions to resolve ongoing issues.
Nevertheless, Brown contended that those efforts have proven fruitless as city officials have refused to comply with the independent auditors.
“The city has not been cooperative,” Commissioner Chris Brown said on The Gallo Show. “We actually sent a subpoena to try to get to the bottom of it. We subpoenaed four or five of the city employees. They had a motion to quash, so they did not even show up. They don’t even want to talk to us or anything else.”
Among issues cited by investigators, Brown noted that there are “hot spots” in which vegetation has grown along power lines, subsequently causing parasitic power loss or outright power failures. With the cost of removing vegetation reported to cost millions of dollars, Brown deemed it necessary to undergo a thorough review, so that officials could aid in the process of offering meaningful solutions for recurring hindrances.
Other concerns with HSUD’s services levied by the Public Service Commission include a lack of utility management, system maintenance, technical and engineering expertise, and inadequate storm response.
“We’re not trying to play ‘gotcha,’” Brown
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