Horan Hopeful For State Funding For Grid

WATER VALLEY – State Representative Kevin Horan attended a Board of Aldermen meeting on April 29 to update city officials about an anticipated special session for state lawmakers to adopt a state budget and potentially consider funding for special projects including money for the Water Valley Electric Department.

Horan told aldermen that he expects Governor Tate Reeves to call lawmakers back to the capitol in the coming weeks for a special session after the 2025 regular session ended without a state budget agreement. Horan also said he will request $1.5 million in funding for the City of Water Valley’s electric department when lawmakers reconvene.
Horan and Senator Ben Suber worked together during the 2024 Legislative Session to secure $1.5 million for the City of Water Valley Electric Department.

“I am hopeful we are going to get that again,” Horan said. “It is critical for Water Valley citizens and for economic development to have reliable electricity. Y’all correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like every time we get a strong storm we lose electricity. You can’t develop real estate, you can’t develop industry. I know y’all are working on it,” he added about the problem.

Horan also cautioned that Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the senate, is emphatic that special projects should not be funded this year. Horan explained that typically $240 million is divided between the Senate and House to fund projects across the state each year. Horan explained that Hosemann wants to reduce or eliminate the money spent on special projects in case there are federal funding cuts.

“There are (state) agencies telling us that, based on certain policies implemented in Washington, they are uncertain about how the money from the federal budget is going to come down,” Horan added.

Horan said the biggest concerns are federal funding cuts for Medicaid, the Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services that will impact state agencies.

“The main concern is Medicaid… $200 million could be cut. If that is the case, we could have some issues in Mississippi keeping some of the programs that we have in place. I am not saying that is the number, but the possibility exists,” Horan said.

Horan said House Speaker Jason White sent a letter to Hosemann in mid-April noting that House leaders are frustrated with Senate leaders refusing to discuss spending money on special projects across the state.

“We have had some closed door meetings with the Lt. Governor, which I have been engaged in. My position has been – you don’t ever know about the federal government,” Horan said. “Everybody says we don’t know what we are going to get. We can’t go in and say we are going to predict the future when it comes to the federal government, all we can do is look at what happened in the past. That has been the House position, Speaker White and the appropriations team has held true to that position that this is project money that needs to go back to rural Mississippi.”

Mayor’s Input

Mayor Reynolds reported that work continues to update the city’s electric department grid. On Wednesday, installation is expected to begin on a backup transformer that will be installed at Yalobusha General Hospital. One of two backup transformers that will be installed, this project will provide a secondary source of electricity in case of failure at the city’s main substation. The backup transformers will be connected to Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association’s substation west of the city and will be able to provide power to the vast majority of the city in an emergency.
Funding for backup power project was provided by a grant from Delta Regional Authority for $280,000 and a $500,000 appropriation from the State of Mississippi during the 2022 Legislative Session that Reynolds helped push through.

“These transformers will help to lessen possibilities of catastrophic power outages of several days,” Reynolds said. “This is step one.”

The mayor added that the next step for work on the grid is to replace an estimated 400 rotten or substandard poles in the city. He noted that workers with Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association will replace many of these poles as part of the installation agreement to provide broadband fiber in the city.

Reynolds also explained that the city was selected to receive a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP), money that will flow through Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to the city. The grant has been in jeopardy following changes in federal policy after the Presidential Election, but the mayor said he is hopeful the money will be allocated.

“The Department of Energy is negotiating with Tennessee Valley Authority. They told them to remove all of the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) language, which actually is a sign that it has life,” the mayor said.

Reynolds also said new wiring is needed is needed in almost one-third of the city’s electric department coverage area. These portions of the city include areas of Market Street including the high school, Panola Street, Dupuy Street, part of the downtown business area.

“Catching up is hard, but is an absolute necessity – our citizens deserve no less,” the mayor added.

Pole Repair Extends Into Early Morning Hours

A power outage Sunday afternoon in Water Valley was triggered after a utility pole on Cook Street broke, bringing down a maze of power lines and a bank of transformers. The repair extended into the early morning hours Monday.

The pole had been scheduled for a replacement Wednesday morning, April 30, but the work was postponed because the scheduled outage included electricity flowing to the Casey Jones Railroad Museum where there were planned festivities for Casey Jones Day.

Water Valley Electric Department Superintendent Brandon Richardson reported the outage was called in at 3:38 p.m. and the repair was completed at 2:28 a.m. Monday. Richardson said the outage was isolated to a small portion of town during the repairs.

“I already had a pole at the shop framed up and ready to go,” Richardson added about the replacement.
Richardson also said that it is likely that a vehicle struck the pole, contributing to it ultimately snapping.