Associated Press - November 10, 2009 9:14 AM ET

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - State regulators say Mississippi Power Co. has shown a need to increase its capacity to generate electricity.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission issued its decision Monday.

Mississippi Power proposes building a lignite plant to open by 2014 in the east-central part of the state.

Central District Commissioner Lynn Posey says hearings last month supported MPC's contention that it will need to produce more electricity in the future.

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of the Atlanta-based Southern Co., says the Kemper plant would use a new technology that converts a soft coal called lignite into a gas that would fuel turbines to create electricity. Company officials say the lignite would be locally mined and would be cheaper than natural gas.

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