When: Nov 18, 10 a.m. Eastern time
Dial in 727-258-5789 PIN: 97609
A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis scheduled for publication next week concludes that the aging Plant Hammond, an 840-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Northwest Georgia, has grown prohibitively expensive to maintain and that it should be retired.
The report, commissioned by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, details how Plant Hammond has become an increasingly uncompetitive source of electricity generation in recent years and how Georgia Power can better serve its ratepayers by investing instead in renewable resources and energy-efficiency programs.
It notes also that Plant Hammond is similar to other plants Georgia Power has either retired or has announced it will retire soon. Plant Hammond is hobbled by outdated coal-burning technology, poor operating performance and high production costs. Its four power-generating units date from the 1950s and early 1970s, and the plant produces power today that is much more expensive other sources at Georgia Power’s disposal.
The author of the report, David Schlissel, will speak and take questions. Schlissel, IEEFA’s director of resource planning analysis, has been a regulatory attorney and consultant on electric utility rate and resource planning issues since 1974. He has testified as an expert witness before regulatory commissions in more than 35 states and before the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He also has testified as an expert witness in state and federal court proceedings concerning electric utilities. His clients have included state regulatory commissions in Arkansas, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. He has also consulted for publicly owned utilities, state governments and attorneys general, state consumer advocates, city governments, and national and local environmental organizations.
For additional information or for an embargoed copy of the report, contact:
Karl Cates
[email protected]
917-439-8225
