Stakeholders line up behind initiative that is expected to save customers about $250 million

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Public Utilities Staff and other electric industry stakeholders have thrown their support behind Entergy Mississippi’s plans to join the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator next December.

Support for the move to MISO gathered momentum in recent weeks with filings from multiple parties to the proceeding before the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Hearings slated for September 21 and September 28 have been waived by agreement of all parties, so that the Commission may issue a decision based upon the written testimony and other evidence filed in the proceeding.

On August 21, the Municipal Energy Agency of Mississippi, Entergy Mississippi’s largest wholesale customer, filed a joint stipulation supporting the change of control to MISO.

On September 14, South Mississippi Electric Power Association filed testimony withdrawing its earlier opposition to Entergy Mississippi’s move to MISO, based on a recently issued independent study performed for SMEPA and its own analysis.

Most recently, Entergy Mississippi and the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff entered into a stipulation that the move to MISO is in the public interest. The staff’s independent study of Entergy Mississippi’s proposal, completed by consulting firm Economic Insight, confirmed significant benefits to customers and electric industry participants. The staff and Entergy Mississippi agreed in the stipulation that certain conditions would help ensure that the public interest is served by the move to MISO, including the terms under which Entergy Mississippi should join MISO and how it should report future savings to the public utilities staff.

Entergy Mississippi’s evaluation report projects that membership in MISO will save its customers about $250 million in the first decade alone.

MISO is the oldest and one of the largest regional transmission operators, serving 11 Midwestern states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. If the Entergy operating utilities join, MISO’s footprint will extend from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, creating cost savings from participation in a vast regional energy market. Much of MISO’s benefit is due to its “Day 2 Market,” a sophisticated, efficient exchange that includes real-time and next-day energy markets and the use of location-based pricing to manage congestion on the grid.

Under their proposal, the Entergy operating utilities would transfer functional control of their transmission system to MISO. Such a change will affect many players in the state’s electric industry—independent power producers, electric cooperatives and large industrial customers, as well as retail customers and company employees. The far-reaching effects of RTO membership account for the extensive participation of various parties in the proceeding in which the MPSC is addressing this matter.

“For more than a year we’ve worked closely with the commission, the public utilities staff and other stakeholders to ensure that the expected benefits of Entergy Mississippi’s move to MISO to customers, cities and industry players across Mississippi are well understood,” said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. “We are glad to see that our outreach efforts have succeeded in demonstrating to the public utilities staff and stakeholders that joining MISO is in the public interest, and we’re eager to work with the commission to move this matter forward.”

Entergy Mississippi filed its formal change of control request with the commission on December 2, 2011. Intervenors filed their testimony by June 1, 2012, and Entergy Mississippi filed its rebuttal testimony June 25, 2012. Intervenors include Southwest Power Pool, Louisiana Generation LLC/NRG Power Marketing LLC, the Municipal Electric Agency of Mississippi and SMEPA.

If Entergy Mississippi joins MISO, the MPSC will be able to participate as a retail regulator in MISO’s large-scale regional planning process and provide input to the organization’s management team and board of directors. Additionally, as Entergy Mississippi’s retail regulator, the MPSC will continue its regulatory oversight of Entergy Mississippi and its facilities.

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 437,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation’s leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

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In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed in: (i) Entergy’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and (ii) Entergy’s other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, (b) uncertainties associated with rate proceedings, formula rate plans and other cost recovery mechanisms, (c) uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs, (d) nuclear plant relicensing, operating and regulatory risks, including any changes resulting from the nuclear crisis in Japan following its catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, and (e) legislative and regulatory actions, and conditions in commodity and capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements, in addition to other factors described elsewhere in this release and in subsequent securities filings.