Second portion of Entergy rate increase approved

A residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will see his or her bill increase $2.78 per month from the current amount, according to the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve the increase.

Entergy's average residential customer in Mississippi used 1,326 kilowatt hours per month in 2011, according to the Energy Information Administration.

In December, the commission approved a rate increase of $8.29 a month to cover higher natural gas costs as well as the company's recent purchase of a Jackson power plant.

Despite the changes, Entergy says a 1000 kwh-per-month customer will pay $99.71 in February 2013, compared to $95.08 in February 2012.

The Grand Gulf purchase is supposed to save fuel costs in the long run. Entergy projects a savings of $346 million from 2013 to 2042. Grand Gulf runs at half the cost of Entergy Mississippi's next cheapest asset, its share of the Independence coal plant in Arkansas, Entergy officials have said.