Members of the Armed Forces who are deployed on active duty overseas soon may see a break back home on their power and gas bills, if they are Mississippi-based.

Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Brandon Presley (D) proposed on December 6 that the commission staff develop a recommendation for the March 2017 meeting to address discounts on power and gas bills for families during periods in which the head of household is deployed.

“If fast food restaurants can give a break to the men and women fighting for America on their coffee, certainly public utility monopolies can find a way to help too,” Presley said. “Anything we can do to ease the worries of those serving our country and let them know we’re watching out for their families back home is just the right thing to do.”

The proposal would cover electrical utilities Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power, as well as natural gas utilities Atmos Energy., CenterPoint Energy, Mississippi River Gas, and Willmut Gas. Cooperatives and government-owned utilities would not be affected.

The full commission voted 3-0 to adopt the proposal.