As summer flares, this Mississippi utility keeps losing power

Some critics recently have blamed Holly Springs Mayor Sharon Gipson, who stepped in to help manage the utility after the December 2022 retirement of the department’s general manager. Gipson, the mayor since 2021, said the problems predate her, pointing to the system’s aging infrastructure.

She added that disagreements among the city’s Board of Aldermen also have delayed the city’s  hiring decisions. Gipson said at least four people have applied for the general manager position, but the city has yet to fill the role.  

She said she has received fewer calls about the system’s issues and believes her administration has made progress, but acknowledged that with power outages “even if it’s one person, that is a crisis.”

An attorney with the Mississippi Public Service Commission said the state regulator does not have jurisdiction over the utility, but had worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, to “determine appropriate steps to address the quality of service being provided by the city.” 

In March, the TVA released a report that found the Holly Springs department was spending 22% less on operations and maintenance compared to similar systems. It also reported that more needed to be done to clear away vegetation that can contribute to outages. The problems were significant enough that some local companies were uncomfortable loaning workers to help in Holly Springs “because of the condition of the system,” according to the report.

The review also found that the utility’s power outage tracking data was unreliable. 

As of July, the agency said it had not received a plan from the city addressing the system’s problems.

A spokesperson for the TVA said in a statement that the agency was “aware of the issues with the Holly Springs power system,” calling it “a difficult situation for customers.” Although the agency is limited in the ability to intervene, it is monitoring the city’s plan to assess its system. 

“TVA is committed to helping find solutions as to how best support the improvement of HSUD  (Holly Springs Utility Department) and to best support all of the customers HSUDserves,” the spokesperson wrote.

Gipson said although she had not provided a written response, she has spoken with TVA officials. 

Away from city hall, longtime residents and newcomers alike say they are desperate for help. 

On July 31, a crowd of more than 200 people filled an auditorium on the campus of Rust College, a historically Black college, for a public hearing on the utility problems.

Becky Brown, a single mother of two, said she relied on a generator that was just powerful enough to run a small space heater during the February ice storm outage. Brown spent the night going out into the cold to fuel up the generator and piled blankets on her kids to keep them warm, she said.

Brown said her mother has had to use paid time off during power outages because she works remotely. She also is concerned about how her 10-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son will use their school-issued laptops without reliable power, she said.