The Webster Progress-Times

The Natchez Trace Electric Power Association still has competitive rates even with last fall's rate increase, according to General Manager Joe Boehms.

Most of the 7.2-percent retail rate increase went to the Tennessee Valley Authority to install facilities mandated by the federal Clean Air Act, he told the Eupora Rotary Club on Tuesday. This was the first rate increase implemented by TVA since 1997. NTEPA purchases all of its power under a 10-year revolving contract from TVA, which regulates the association's retail rates.

Boehms said the NTEPA has competitive rates compared to area electrical cooperatives.

"We try to provide the best customer service we can," he also said.

Boehms gave the club this overview of the history of TVA and Natchez Trace EPA and other information about them:

The campaign to electrify the United States with member-owned electric cooperatives began extensively after the Great Depression under President Franklin Roosevelt's administration.

The Tennessee Valley Authority was created in 1933 to make bad living conditions better for people in parts of a seven-state region, including Mississippi. The Rural Electrification Administration was established in 1935 to provide formation guidance and low-cost financing to take electricity to rural America via member-owned electric cooperatives.

One main mission of TVA was to tame and control the Tennessee River by building a series of dams to control floods, make the river navigable, promote economic development, produce low-cost hydroelectricity and provide recreation.

Houston-based Natchez Trace EPA was established in 1939 under the guidance of the TVA and REA working closely with local leaders. It is one of a thousand electrical cooperatives in the United States.

The association is owned by members and governed by a nine-member board, including Eupora Mayor Pete Fortner, Robbie Harrington and Terry Wills of Webster County. It serves parts of seven counties.

NTEPA obtains power at 161,000 volts from TVA at three delivery points: Houston, Calhoun City and Eupora. It has 55 full-time employees and provides service to members through about 15,770 meters. Its sales are about $22 million annually, of which about 75 percent is passed on to TVA for power cost.

The association sells about 320 million kilowatt hours (KWH) of power annually. About 78 percent of its meters are used for residential purposes, providing approximately 58 percent of the NTEPA annual revenue. Average residential usage is around 1,260 KWH monthly.

NTEPA operates and maintains about 2,068 miles of distribution lines and right-of-way. It owns and maintains about 35,000 wood poles.

Natchez Trace EPA promotes regional industrial and economic development by helping fund the North Mississippi Industrial Development Association. The association and TVA in partnership provide professional assistance upon request to small businesses in the proper and efficient use of electricity. In addition to electricity, NTEPA makes power surge protectors available to its customers.

TVA recently made a tax-equivalent payment of $18,130 to the state of Mississippi. It is also a sustaining partner in support of the Leadership82 project to train community leaders in Webster and three other counties. Lineman Lamar Dumas of NTEPA's Eupora branch participated in the inaugural class.