JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Entergy Corp. has won the final approvals needed to join a regional electrical transmission group.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission and New Orleans City Council voted Thursday to allow the New Orleans-based utility to move ahead. Regulators in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas approved earlier.
Entergy says it will join MISO, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, in December 2013. Indiana-based MISO directs electricity movement in parts of 11 Midwestern states and Canada's Manitoba province.
MISO is supposed to save Entergy customers $1.4 billion over 10 years. MISO says it will ensure Entergy customers get the cheapest possible electricity, even if it's generated at a faraway plant instead of a nearby one owned by Entergy.
After joining MISO, Entergy wants to spin off its long-distance transmission lines to ITC Holdings Corp.
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