Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley visited Lowndes County Tuesday to promote his Small Business Incentives Rider, a program which saves small businesses money on utilities.
The program works with utility companies around the state to provide discounts and other financial incentives for small businesses during their first year of operation, a crucial time for local businesses, Presley said.
Presley and representatives from Atmos Energy gathered in Ann’s Dairy Bar and Grill, a restaurant on Highway 69 that opened in June. Atmos waived the initial deposit for restaurant owner Ann Wozniak and has discounted the business’ base natural gas rates by 25 percent for the first year Wozniak is in operation.
Wozniak agreed the savings help.
“This summer’s been mighty mighty hot, and the overhead has been great,” she said. “And like Mr. Presley said, little businesses struggle.”
Wozniak, whose grandmother taught her to cook when she was six, says she provides “down-home cooking” for “down-home folks.”
The idea behind the program is to encourage small business owners like Wozniak to open their doors without being deterred by the many costs associated with running a business, Presley said.
“We understand that Main Street and small businesses in Mississippi are the backbone of our economy,” Presley said. “They’re creating the majority of jobs. … They don’t get bailed out like Wall Street. They don’t get the big tax breaks that major industries do, but they’re the folks who are in our community sponsoring Christmas parades, sponsoring the football program, buying an ad to help out the school.”
Presley began the program in 2011. Since then, he said, 2,826 businesses in Mississippi have saved more than $1.7 million — an average of about $600 per business.
“This is the most successful small business utility rate incentive in the United States of America here in Mississippi,” he said. “The proof is in the pudding.”
Atmos has been involved with the program since its inception in 2011. Other corporate utility companies over which Presley has rate jurisdiction such as Mississippi Power Company and CenterPoint Energy, also participate. Tennessee Valley Authority, where many local utilities in North Mississippi purchase electric power, does not participate.
“Atmos Energy is really defined by the neighborhoods and communities that we serve,” Vice President Bill Senter said. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the communities that we serve in the state of Mississippi. So it’s the perfect opportunity for us to support our small businesses and support ourselves by (having) an incentive that gives customers starting small businesses a leg up during that first year which is so critical.”
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