Wyoming Coal Plant Draws Fire in South Dakota

May 7th, 2010 • Filed Under
feature photo

By Barbara Soderlin

RAPID CITY, S.D. — A group of Rapid City residents and the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center said last week that Black Hills Power could have avoided building an expensive new coal-fired power plant in Wyoming by implementing energy efficiency measures.

The group also said the utility did not adequately take into account the likely increase in cost of carbon emissions due to federal regulations. The comments were part of testimony in Black Hills Power’s revenue increase request currently before the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

“The utility can’t justify the inclusion of Wygen III in the calculation of the rates it charges its customers,” said Sam Khoroosi, the group’s attorney.

The Wygen III power plant started production April 1 outside Gillette and is providing power to Black Hills area customers, who are paying for the plant with increased interim rates set by the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

The new power plant was the main reason for the utility’s Sept. 30, 2009, request for a 26.6 percent increase in annual revenue, which would come from an even larger increase in customers’ electric bills.

The group that filed the testimony is a party to the utility’s rate increase case pending before the commission. The testimony will be considered in a hearing set to begin June 28 in Pierre, unless all the parties first reach a settlement. It’s typical for parties to a utility rate case to file testimony in advance of the actual legal hearing.

the rest of the story …

Post a Response