The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit Thursday trying to stop Mississippi Power Co. from developing a coal-fired, electric-generating plant in the east central part of the state.
The lawsuit was filed in coastal Harrison County Chancery Court.
In May, the state Public Service Commission voted 2-1 to ease restrictions it had put on the Kemper County plant.
Sierra Club state director Louie Miller described that decision as a "flip flop." He said it would allow Mississippi Power to charge rate payers for the costs of the plant before it's even built.
Miller said the PSC refused to order Mississippi Power to disclose how much customers will pay in rates for the new plant.
"Agreeing to unknown increased electric rates for Kemper is like buying a car when the salesman won't tell you what it costs," Miller said in a statement. "This is an outrage and betrayal of the public trust."
Mississippi Power officials had no immediate comment. The lawsuit represents only one side of a legal argument.
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of the Atlanta-based Southern Co., has said the plant would use a new technology that converts lignite into a gas that would fuel turbines to create electricity. Company officials said the lignite would be locally mined and would be cheaper than natural gas.
The utility said more than 4 billion tons of lignite are underground near the plant site, and it has options on 30,000 acres.
The proposed 582-megawatt plant is expected to begin generating power by 2014, according to the utility.
Mississippi Power officials say the plant will create 260 permanent jobs and 1,000 jobs during the construction phase.
Associated Press
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