Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Power Co. could announce in coming days that it won't meet a May deadline to start commercial operation at the $4.3 billion power plant it's building in Kemper County.

If the company can't complete the plant by May, it could have to forfeit $133 million in federal tax credits it had received from the U.S. Department of Energy. That could push cost overruns absorbed by shareholders of the parent Southern Co. above $1 billion.

Mississippi Power President Ed Holland told the Associated Press earlier in September that the company was reviewing the schedule. Spokeswoman Amoi Geter says that decision could come sometime this week.

Rainy weather and additional work have pushed back the schedule, Holland says. More than 6,000 workers are on the site, creating congestion that slows work.