Photo by Stephen Wilson

(Jackson, MS) – The Mississippi Public Service Commission is urging the public to stay away from utility crews working in the field.

“These employees are working hard to ensure the public has essential services, like electricity and gas,” said Chairman Dane Maxwell. “When someone approaches these field workers, it can create a dangerous situation for the employees and the person who approaches them. It’s imperative that people stay safely away.”

"As we take precautions to protect ourselves during this crisis, we must be reminded that our utility workers continue their daily work in the field to ensure that we have the various utility services we need," Central District Commissioner Brent Bailey said. "Utility personnel and crews are taking special measures to help keep our lights, gas and water on and we ask you to help us all stay healthy and safe by adhering to CDC and MSDH guidelines and keep your distance from utility workers and work zones."

“We ask each Mississippian to please not complicate this crisis or make it more dangerous by approaching utility workers,” Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley said. “These employees are critical to keeping our utility infrastructure up and running during COVID-19 and we need all citizens to commit to helping by staying away from these utility workers and adhering to health guidelines. We cannot afford to make this situation worse because of careless behavior.”

Work sites can have any number of hidden dangers for the public, and distracting crews can cause accidents to happen. Practicing social distancing (six or more feet apart) is the best way to keep a safe distance from crews, so that citizens and workers can stay healthy and virus-free.

These workers provide an essential service and are working to ensure power and gas continues to flow to homes and businesses during these challenging times. Anyone who has a question about their utility’s service should contact the utility provider by phone, website or mobile app if available.