TUPELO • A north Mississippi utility regulator says the Tennessee Valley Authority cannot block local utility companies from providing power to medical cannabis facilities.
Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, who represents the state’s northern district, took issue on Thursday afternoon with a recent statement by the TVA that it would not “not direct federal resources or funds to the cultivation and/or distribution of marijuana.”
TVA is a federally-owned electric utility corporation that sells power to local and area utility companies, and a small handful of direct customers.
Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, even for medical use.
Despite TVA’s federal ownership, Presley said on Thursday that local utilities in north Mississippi that buy wholesale power from TVA are obligated by state law to serve all customers.
“It is a long-held principle in state law that electric utilities have an obligation to serve customers without discrimination,” Presley wrote in his statement. “A licensed medical marijuana facility under Mississippi law is no different.”
Presley wrote that he believes any licensed medical marijuana facility should be “served with electricity upon application and request.”
Presley further said that he believed TVA’s previous statement caused some prospective medical cannabis facilities to rethink locating in Northeast Mississippi.
TVA, one of the main suppliers of wholesale electricity in north Mississippi, provides electricity to several utility companies in Northeast Mississippi, including Tupelo Water & Light and Tombigbee Electric Power Association.
Presley wrote that it was not up to TVA to police federal marijuana laws and that state law prevails in this instance.
“Once power is delivered by the TVA to a local utility, TVA’s oversight ends and controlling state law and Public Service Commission statutes ensure that these facilities should be served with electricity like any other licensed business,” he wrote.
TVA spokesman Scott Brooks said in an emailed statement that there will be “no interruption in service because of the newly signed law” with respect to local utilities.
However, Brooks said TVA is looking for more information about the conflict between state and federal law on the subject of medical marijuana.
“The broader issue is a complex one and represents a conflict between state and federal law,” he said. “We are looking to the appropriate federal agencies for further clarification and have requested additional guidance.”
Under the state’s new medical marijuana law, the state of Mississippi is statutorily required to begin reviewing applications for cannabis facilities and patient cards in June. The state Department of Revenue must start issuing licenses to dispensaries the month after.
