Silverpoint Consulting officially submitted the final report on their investigation of the Holly Springs Utility District (HSUD) this week with concerns about the utility not providing proper service to customers and questioning the ability to run the utility.
Silverpoint Consulting was hired by the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) to conduct a third-party investigation into HSUD and evaluated critical aspects of the utility’s performance, including system operations, maintenance practices, emergency preparedness, and metering and billing.
"Underscoring a persistent and severe decline in service reliability and quality issues that align closely with the sustained volume of complaints submitted by HSUD customers to the PSC, the report outlines significant concerns, including what it describes as a “death spiral” in the utility’s metering infrastructure, brought on by chronic mismanagement, lack of maintenance, and poor planning," said Richard Stone, spokesman for the Public Service Commission, in a press release. "It further details an overstressed operations group, dangerous overgrowth around the distribution system, and long-neglected substations that continue to threaten system reliability, concluding that HSUD and the City of Holly Springs have demonstrated an inability and unwillingness to adequately serve their customers by citing longstanding failures to act on practical, previously issued recommendations."
The PSC launched an investigation into the HSUD in November 2024.
"In treating these findings with the seriousness they deserve, Chairman Chris Brown emphasizes the importance of a swift and methodical approach, stating, “the Silverpoint report lays bare just how dire the situation is at Holly Springs Utility District," Stone added. "This crisis didn’t happen overnight -- it’s the result of decades of neglect and mismanagement.
"The system is in a severe state of disrepair, and turning it around will require an extraordinary, coordinated effort," Stone continued. "TVA, along with federal, state, and local partners, must come together to confront this crisis and ensure reliable service for the people of the HSUD service area.”
The Tennessee Valley Authority, sued the city of Holly Springs in May for breaching a contract by continuing to mismanage its electric department. TVA, who has sold power to Holly Springs since 1935, said Holly Springs breached a power contract between the two parties by taking funds from its utility department when it shouldn’t have, as well as by failing to make timely payments, increase its retail rates to customers and provide regular financial updates to TVA.
Stone said the Commission continues to carefully examine this extensive report in its entirety to ensure a decision which fully reflects the scope and urgency of the situation and prioritizes the long-term interests of HSUD’s customers, the PSC will have an announcement at the next Docket Meeting on Aug. 5 as to what the next step is to act on these findings.
