Federal judge orders utility to turn over customer information amid reports of improper water use

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG
Associated Press/Report for America

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Mississippi’s largest electric utility to turn over information on customers in and around the capital city who might be using water without paying for it. U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate granted a motion Monday by the federally appointed interim manager of Jackson’s water and sewer systems. The now-granted motion compels Entergy Mississippi to turn over names, addresses and contact information for customers in over 30 zip codes in the area. The order comes months after Henifin said Jackson is collecting only a little more than half of the money it bills for water use, far below the rate at which most American cities obtain such fees.