Thursday, June 24, 2010

SWEPCO pulls a "swapco switcheroo" to circumvent shutdown after court order upheld

Another day of good news and bad news.
When will SWEPCO diversify its power-production facilities to start selling "clean" energy? If anyone didn't know why they kept building this plant despite knowing it was not environmentally sound, the "merchant" option was always their alternative plan.

SWEPCO shifts coal-fired plant to 'merchant' status

The coal-fired plant under construction in Hempstead County has been the target of a number of appeals.
Photo by Benjamin Krain
The coal-fired plant under construction in Hempstead County has been the target of a number of appeals.
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 — Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), said today in a news release that construction of the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant in Hempstead County will continue under an option to sell in other markets the power originally planned to serve the company's Arkansas retail customers.
The shift to the “merchant plant” comes on the heels of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s confirmation Thursday morning of its ruling that overturned the Arkansas Public Service Commission's 2007 approval of the plant.
Under the court's ruling, SWEPCO no longer has a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need for the Turk plant to serve the company's Arkansas retail customers, the release said.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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