A trial is finally set to begin Monday in a $1 billion-plus lawsuit by the state of Mississippi against its largest private electrical utility, more than a decade after it was filed.

Attorney General Jim Hood is suing Entergy Mississippi, claiming the company deliberately sold overpriced power to customers from 1998 to 2009.

Hood is a Democrat running for governor.

He argues Entergy had a duty to buy less expensive power from other generators for its customers.

Hood says the unit of New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. owes more than $1 billion. He wants refunds to Entergy’s 447,000 western Mississippi customers.

Entergy denies wrongdoing. It says the dispute should be decided by a state or federal regulator.

The company says it ran its own plants to ensure the lights stayed on.