Entergy Corporation is known for keeping business lights burning, but the company also has a stake in getting them turned on to begin with.

Named one of the nation’s top-10 utilities for economic development by Site Selection Magazine, Entergy’s role in finding sites for start-up businesses and helping established ones expand or relocate was detailed at Thursday’s Rotary Club meeting by Scott Luth, business development manager for Entergy Mississippi.

The work helps the business, the community and Entergy, Luth said.

As a regulated company, Entergy’s market is geographically restricted. “We’re not allowed to sell electricity outside of our regulated area,” Luth said. “The way we grow our business is to grow our communities. When we help companies to locate here, it helps our business in turn.”

Entergy maintains a Web site, www.mississippisitesection.com, with a database loaded with available properties and buildings, community profiles and other information that can help a new company choose the right spot to open or an existing company make decisions about expansion or change.

For example, plugging “Warren County” into its search criteria turns up five properties of varying sizes ready for business development.

“It helps make sure we’re getting a fair shot, and that our communities are getting a fair chance at landing those companies,” Luth said.

Entergy’s economic development team also works with communities, helping them assess their strengths and promote them. “Look at your assets,” he said. “Vicksburg has the port, the interstate and the rail system. You have a lot to offer.”

Wayne Mansfield, director of the Warren County Port Commission and executive director of the Warren County Economic Development Foundation, said Entergy’s support and assistance is “invaluable.”

“They are on the front lines and are very proactive in helping companies that are on the verge of expanding or ones that are looking to get established,” Mansfield said.

The effort goes beyond providing information, he said, citing the Entergy substation built at the Port of Vicksburg that helped make possible the creation of the jointly run Ergon Refining-Bunge North America ethanol plant built there in 2007. The plant employs about 35 and produces ethanol used for fuel blends.

Entergy also keeps an eye on developing industries and those on the verge of revitalizing as the economy recovers, such as automotive and aerospace. “These are highly skilled, high-paying companies that would be great assets to any community,” Luth said.

Entergy is a partner with the Greater Jackson Alliance, a group of 12 regional entities including businesses, cities and counties, Warren County among them, dedicated to economic development. “It’s critical that we all pull together,” Luth said.

Luth, a native of Ohio, went to school at Mississippi State University and has been an economic development specialist in cities such as Natchez, Cleveland and Jackson. He joined Entergy about two years ago.

Entergy provides power to about 2.6 million customers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. In Mississippi, more than 433,000 are served in 45 counties, including Warren. The company employs about 2,000 people in the state, with an annual payroll of about $175 million.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com