Five Entergy utilities took a key step toward membership in a regional transmission organization on Nov. 30 via submission of the executed transmission owner agreement to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, or MISO.

The utilities - Entergy Mississippi, Inc., Entergy Texas, Inc., Entergy Louisiana, LLC, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C, and Entergy New Orleans, Inc. - follow Entergy Arkansas, Inc., which submitted its executed TOA to MISO Oct. 31.

The TOA is a contract among the MISO transmission owners that governs a transmission owner's membership in the RTO. The agreement is filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and executing the agreement is a key requirement for any transmission owner to join the RTO. By executing the TOA, the Entergy operating companies have agreed to become transmission owning members of MISO, subject to the terms of the agreement.

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  Entergy Mississippi Buys Hinds Energy Facility

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. has completed the purchase of the Hinds Energy Facility, a modern, 450 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in Jackson. The acquisition finalized on Nov. 30 will boost the utility's electric generation capacity and offer significant savings for its customers.  

"This is good news for our customers," said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. "Because the facility is within Entergy Mississippi's service area and was acquired at an attractive price, all of our customers will benefit from the plant."

Entergy Mississippi bought the plant from KGen Hinds LLC for approximately $206 million, a sizeable discount to the cost to construct a comparable facility. The purchase provides the opportunity for the company's customers to realize significant cost savings.  Plans to acquire the Hinds plant were first announced in 2011.

As part of its fifth annual Ministers Day, the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant hosted faith leaders from throughout the Metro Jackson region on Nov. 28 to provide updates on the plant's operations during the past year and an outlook on community-based activities in the months ahead.

As part of the event, Nissan donated $50,000 to Mission Mississippi, an organization that promotes the virtues of diversity, inclusion and reconciliation throughout the state - principles that exemplify The NISSAN WAY. Since 2005, Nissan has donated more than $75,000 to Mission Mississippi's general fund and today's donation is one of the first to the group's 2013 capital campaign. Mission Mississippi will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013.

Neddie Winters, executive director of Mission Mississippi, (fourth from left) gathers with Dan Bednarzyk,  Vice President of Manufacturing - Canton, (third from left) and other employees at the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant. Nissan announced a $50,000 donation to Mission Mississippi as part of its fifth annual Ministers Day on Nov. 28.

Governor Phil Bryant and officials from VT Halter Marine have announced a major expansion at the company's Port of Pascagoula shipyard, breaking ground on VT Halter Marine's new ship repair facility. The new facility will create 400 jobs.

VT Halter Marine, the marine operations division of VT Systems, is a leader in the design and new-build construction of medium and large-sized ships in the U.S.

The company has three ship construction facilities, all located in Mississippi, with one facility in Pascagoula and two in Moss Point. The new ship repair facility, which is being constructed at the company's Pascagoula location, is expected to be operational by March 2014.

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The Kemper County Economic Development Authority has presented Mississippi Power with the organization's highest honor, the John C.  Stennis Award of Merit, for its overall contributions to the community.

"Mississippi Power is being honored this year for their positive impact on Kemper County over the past year," said Craig Hitt, executive director, Kemper County Economic Development Authority. "Along with the job opportunities created because of the construction of the Kemper County energy facility, numerous contributions have been made by Mississippi Power to local organizations that have had positive impacts on the quality of life  in this region."

Two years ago, Mississippi Power established the Kemper County Leadership Program to support the training and development of new leaders in Kemper County. The program already has graduated 36 participants and the third class of new leaders began the year-long program last month.

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Constant Contact, a leader in email marketing and social media marketing campaigns, along with Jackson area chambers of commerce, will host "The Power of Email Marketing" seminars to explore the best practices a business or organization should use for successful email marketing.

Seminars will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 11, Wednesday, Dec. 12, and Friday, Dec. 14, at the Embassy Suites at 200 Township Place in Ridgeland. Each session is from 10 a.m- 12 noon. There is no cost to attend and lunch is provided by Constant Contact. Seating is limited to 100 participants per session.

The event is sponsored by the Canton Chamber of Commerce,  Clinton Chamber of Commerce, Flowood Chamber of Commerce, Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership,  Madison County Chamber of Commerce, Madison the City Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Economic Council, Mississippi Minority Business Alliance, Pearl Chamber of Commerce and Rankin County Chamber of Commerce.

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