Due mostly to continued low natural gas prices, Entergy Mississippi customrs will see rates temporarily drop again this year.

Beginning in April, the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month will pay $10.88 less, or just over $82, keeping rates well below the natural average, said Shelia G. McKinnis, and Entergy customer service representative for the Vicksburg and Port Gibson area.

Electricity rates rise and fall year-to-year based on many factors, she said in a press release issued Thursday. She said the rate decrease is temporary and is expected to last through the early fall.

“Low rates are good for our customers and good for attracting jobs and industry to Mississippi, said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. “While natural gas prices are a significant factor in this decrease, it’s important to note that a lot of hard work by Entergy Mississippi employees goes into providing safe, affordable and reliable power to customers.”

Other reasons for Entergy Mississippi’s low rates are the company’s purchase of more highly efficient, low-cost natural gas power plants and an upgrade at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station to get 13 percent more low-cost nuclear power from the same plant.

According to the press release, Entergy has also pooled with other utilities to get more efficiently dispatched power from multiple sources around the country in a competitive market, and has streamlined the company to make operations more cost-efficient for the long term.

Entergy Mississippi Inc. provides electricity to approximately 442,000 customers in 45 counties in Mississippi. It is a subsidiary of Entergy Corp.