Senator urges PUCT support for Pirkey plant
by Kelso King, Grid Monitor | Source: Grid Monitor | Posted 02/21/2023
Senator Bryan Hughes addressed the Commission at their February 16 meeting concerning AEP/SWEPCO's Pirkey coal power plant, which the utility has proposed to retire. The senator noted a January 9, 2023 letter from six members of the Texas Senate and seven members of the Texas House of Representatives concerning Southwestern Electric Power Company’s (SWEPCO’s) Pirkey power plant (Docket No. 53625).
Sen. Hughes stated that this plant has over 20 years of life left, a clean, reliable power plant, “a cash cow for the company” and, most importantly, a reliable source of dispatchable power. He noted it has been discussed by the Senate State Affairs Committee but was unsure they had stressed the urgency of the situation. Senator Hughes stated that SWEPCO is rushing toward retiring this plant one month from now but the Commission has not yet scrutinized the underlying assumptions the company is are relying on in making that decision.
Senator Hughes stated that SWEPCO wants to close this plant and build new wind and solar generation. He suggested that SWEPCO may make “irreversible moves” toward the closing of the plant and its accompanying mine before the Commission receives a report from the Administrative Law Judge.
While SWEPCO is “a great company,” this proposal is a radical departure from what they have seen from the company for decades. Senator Hughes suggested that in this instance the company, AEP, is “the picture of woke capitalism and ESG” to the detriment of stockholders and ratepayers. He noted that SWEPCO has the option of asking for a five-year extension from the EPA, adding that SWEPCO has stated that EPA is not the main driver of this decision. The senator urged the commissioners to look closely at this situation.
03/24 - 8:00 AM
LEGE - House Energy Resources03/24 - 11:00 AM
LEGE - Senate Business & Commerce03/25 - 8:00 AM
ERCOT - RTCBTF Meeting03/25 - 9:30 AM
03/21/2025
Meeting Summary - 03/20/2025 Texas Backup Power Package Program Workshop03/21/2025
OCI Holdings to build 2GW solar cell plant in Texas03/21/2025
US: Texas based park aiming to remove 500,000 tons of CO2 a year in development03/21/2025
Texas Senate passes bill to improve grid reliability, ready state for more data centers03/21/2025
After years of record growth, Texas clean energy faces challenges in Washington and at homePROJECT TO SUBMIT EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS UNDER 16 TAC § 25.53 - (756 filings)
CY 2025 ELECTRIC GENERATING CAPACITY REPORTS IN PURSUANT TO 16 TAC §25.91 - (384 filings)
APPLICATION OF ENTERGY TEXAS, INC. TO AMEND ITS CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY FOR THE SETEX AREA RELIABILITY PROJECT IN JASPER, MONTGOMERY, NEWTON, POLK, SAN JACINTO, TRINITY, TYLER, AND WALKER COUNTIES - (325 filings)
Renewal of Registration for Power Generation Companies (PGCS) and Self-Generators (SGS) (Odd Numbered Registration) Under 16 TAC §25.109 (H) – 2025 - (209 filings)
CY 2024 RETAIL ELECTRIC PROVIDER (REP) ANNUAL REPORTS AND CY 2025 REP SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS PURSUANT TO 16 TAC 25.107(I) - (108 filings)
APPLICATION OF BRAZOS ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE, INC. TO AMEND ITS CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY FOR THE BEECHAM GAP 138-KV TRANSMISSION LINE IN LAMPASAS AND CORYELL COUNTIES - (102 filings)
BROKER REGISTRATIONS - (77 filings)