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Utilities take over new power plant Combined cycle power generation replacing old plant will significantly reduce gas consumption by Southcentral power utilities Alan Bailey Petroleum News
On Jan. 31 Chugach Electric Association took over the operatorship of the new Southcentral Power Project electricity generation facility that Chugach Electric and Municipal Light & Power have constructed in Anchorage. The new power station had been delivering power to the Railbelt electrical grid for several months as part of the testing and commissioning of the facility but the handover from SNC-Lavalin Constructors, the contractor that built the facility, represented the facility’s formal completion.
The transfer of the $369 million project to Chugach Electric took place well ahead of its originally planned June date, the power utility said in a Feb. 4 press release. Chugach Electric is operating the plant on behalf of itself and Municipal Light & Power, the joint owner.
Natural gas savings “I’m very proud of the work by Chugach staff and managers to bring this project to fruition on behalf of the two utilities and the thousands of consumers they serve,” said Janet Reiser, chair of the Chugach Electric Board of Directors.
And, with modern, combined-cycle power generation equipment, the 183-megawatt gas-fired power plant will consume about 25 percent less gas per kilowatt-hour than the decades-old and inefficient Southcentral power generation capacity that the plant is displacing. The consequence will be a reduced demand for natural gas from the declining gas fields of the Cook Inlet basin and a reduced cost of power generation for Southcentral electricity consumers.
Chugach alone estimates that the new plant will cut its annual natural gas consumption by 3 billion cubic feet a year, an annual savings of more than $15 million for its customers, the utility said.
However, consumers can expect an initial rise in electricity rates by 4 to 6 percent, to enable the utilities to recover the cost of building the new facility, Chugach Electric said.
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