Page 102 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2025

Lineman Austin Scarborough connects a concrete pole, part of the company’s storm- hardening initiative.
Celebrates a Century of Service and a Bright Future
Mississippi Power is celebrating its past while looking to the future as the company marks a century of service to its customers and powering progress across the state.
“Our company was founded on the principles of reliability, service and community,” said Chairman, President and CEO Pedro Cherry, who recently replaced Coast native Anthony Wilson as the utility’s chief executive. “Those ideals are just as powerful to us today during our centennial year as they were in the beginning.”
“They have served us well in the past, and they will continue to guide us as we move into a bright future,” Cherry continued. “We are proud of our role in helping electrify Mississippi a century ago and deploying innovative technologies today that will continue to improve our communities and our quality of life.”
Through the Great Depression, World War II, federal intervention in the industry, energy crises, heroic responses to
devastating hurricanes like Camille and Katrina plus countless severe weather events, and many other challenges, Mississippi Power has been a dependable, constant strength for its customers for 100 years.
The company began operations on January 1, 1925, after the acquisition of the Gulfport and Mississippi Coast Traction Company, which included a small generating plant that served about 5,500 customers and an electric railway from Biloxi to Pass Christian. Interestingly, that generation plant was located on the site where the company’s headquarters stands today in downtown Gulfport.
From those humble beginnings, Mississippi Power began adding localized utilities up the east side of the state to the Tennessee state line, tapping into hydroelectric power from Alabama Power with the goal of creating an interconnected grid across the Southeast that would later become Southern Company, its parent company.
102 | August 2025
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