Louisiana approves SWEPCO plant in SW Arkansas

Louisiana Approves Proposed SWEPCO Plant In Arkansas
Last updated Tuesday, March 25, 2008 10:07 PM CDT in News
By John Lyon
The Morning News
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LITTLE ROCK — The Louisiana Public Service Commission has approved Southwestern Electric Power Company's proposed 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Southwest Arkansas, SWEPCO said Tuesday.
The $1.3 billion plant in Hempstead County would provide power to SWEPCO customers in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana. The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved the plant in November; SWEPCO's application with Texas regulators is still pending.
SWEPCO's application for an air permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality also is pending.
"We are very pleased that the Louisiana commission has recognized the importance of this plant for meeting the future needs of our Louisiana customers," said Venita McCellon-Allen, SWEPCO's president and chief operating officer, in a news release.
McCellon-Allen said SWEPCO hopes to get approval from Texas regulators so its customers in that state "can join Arkansas and Louisiana in the long-term benefits of reliable and affordable electricity from the proposed John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant."
Wendy Harvel, an administrative law judge in Texas, recommended in January that the state's Public Utilities Commission reject SWEPCO's application.
SWEPCO "has not met its burden to show that it has a need for additional generating," Harvel wrote to the commission.
A rejection from Texas regulators would mean that SWEPCO could not raise customers' rates in that state to help pay for the plant. The company has said it will build the plant with or without approval from Texas.