Northern District Public Safety Commissioner Chris Brown vows to continue promoting reliable, safe energy sources
Brown says reliable energy sources have a big impact on economic development
NEW ALBANY, MISS. (WCBI) – From the building that was once home to New Albany City Hall, a staff of six works in the office of Northern District Public Safety Commissioner Chris Brown.
There are about one million people in the Public Service Commission’s Northern District. The PSC regulates essential utilities, such as electricity, gas, water, and sewer, ensuring reliable service, fair rates, and safety.
Much of the work in the office starts with a phone call from utility customers.
“Any complaint people have, they call in, file a complaint, and the investigator sees what is going on, a lot of that is with water quality, electrical bills, even A T and T,” Commissioner Brown said.
Customer complaints over the years led to an investigation of the Holly Springs Utility. The utility has been placed in receivership, after what a report called ‘decades of neglect.”
And Commissioner Brown was front and center last year, when a natural gas line in south Lee County ruptured during routine work.
“We have a pipeline safety division, as soon as the event happened we were on the ground within hours, to address the situation, evaluate what was going on and work with the company and try and get services back on as quickly as possible,” Brown said.
Going forward, another issue Brown and his staff are keeping up with is the data centers coming into Mississippi. The commissioner said he wants to make sure utility companies don’t put an unfair burden on ratepayers.
“Google, Meta, these guys are big enough to make sure that doesn’t happen, and I think they want to make sure they do not put that on the back of the average Mississippian.”
He knows that affordable, reliable energy plays a big role in economic development. Brown encourages anyone with a complaint or question, to call his office.
“We have a great staff, one thing I tell them is, the first two words in our name is Public Service, I jokingly tell them, if somebody calls and wants to know what the weather will be like tomorrow, do a web search and tell them,” he said.
Brown was in private business and also a state lawmaker before he was elected to the PSC .
