Holly Springs Utility Department under state PSC investigation

Photo: Northern District Public Service Commissioner Chris Brown during a campaign stop near Hernando in 2023. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

July 11 – Mississippi state officials plan to investigate the Holly Springs Utility Department (HSUD), which has struggled with protracted service problems to its customers for several months and years. Northern District PSC Commissioner Chris Brown announced the investigation Thursday.

Holly Springs residents have been complaining about utility power issues for months. Some have even gone so far as to purchase generators because they were unhappy with HSUD. Holly Springs residents still had no power for a month after an ice storm in 2023.

Brown is citing authority given to the commission through Senate Bill 2453, introduced by State Senator Neil Whaley and co-sponsored by Senators Kevin Blackwell (R-Southaven) and Dr. David Parker (R-Olive Branch) of DeSoto County. The bill was signed by Governor Tate Reeves in April.

According to the measure, the Public Service Commission now has the authority to “revoke a municipality’s license to provide services within a radius of more than one mile outside its municipal boundaries if the municipality is found to have failed to provide sufficiently adequate services.”

Hundreds of HSUD customers were again without power after an overnight rainstorm swept through the region Wednesday evening.

The Tennessee Valley Authority provides power to HSUD and has received over 1,000 complaints about the utility. The TVA has no regulatory authority over HSUD but has conducted its own investigation. The TVA has identified “operational and financial practices that need to be addressed.”