There has never been a question of whether or not the rapidly expanding city of Madison needs more power. The question has been where to place the facilities to provide it.

The answer came with the recent approval by the Mississippi Public Service Commission of Entergy Mississippi’s plans to build Madison’s new substation on two acres at Liberty Park. Several other locations were considered.

“The site offered by the city meets both Madison’s ideals for aesthetics and Entergy’s requirements for providing reliable service to this rapidly growing area,” said Charles Bryan, customer service manager for Entergy. “We are pleased to be moving forward with our plans to meet the future needs of Madison’s commercial and residential customers.”

The Liberty Park site allows the substation to be constructed within the area experiencing the most development - along the I-55 corridor. Currently, there is no electrical substation within the city of Madison.

The substation will blend with surrounding commercial development.

“Entergy has a great appreciation for the vision community leaders have for this city,” said Bryan. “We’ve taken measures with this project which make a positive contribution to that vision.”

The new facility, scheduled for service within the next three to four years, will serve an area of about five square miles and increase the efficiency and reliability of distribution to Madison customers. Design and construction of the substation, including transmission lines, represent an investment in the community by Entergy of approximately $50 million.

“Entergy has played an important role in the development of Madison by providing reliable, affordable service to hundreds of new homes and businesses,” Bryan said. “We look forward to continuing to support the city’s remarkable growth.”

Entergy Mississippi provides electricity to more than 427,000 customers in 45 counties. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.

Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States.

Entergy delivers electricity to 2.6 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.