Joyce Verret Keller
June 23, 2011
Nolan Pierre Adams
June 27, 2011
The Louisiana Energy and Power Authority has selected a New Jersey-based company to perform engineering services for the design and construction of a proposed 64-megawatt, natural gas fueled, combined-cycle power plant at an existing power generating site in Morgan City.
Burns and Roe Enterprises Inc. will oversee development of a proposed facility intended to service 10 of the LEPA’s 18 client areas including Morgan City, Houma, Abbeville, Jonesville, New Roads, Plaquemine, Rayne, St. Martinville, Vidalia and Walsh.
‘Our team is committed to support this important project, said Burns and Roe Power Consulting Division Vice President Al Ferrer in a printed statement. ‘We look forward to providing expert owner’s engineering services in the development, design, procurement, and construction of the project.
Neither Burns and Roe nor LEPA offered estimates on the facility’s cost, but Terrebonne Parish Utilities Director Tom Bourg had been reported as having suggested that Terrebonne Parish’s share in the project construction alone could reach approximately $80 million.
Terrebonne Parish Council Chairman Clayton Voisin (D-District 7) said talk of this project has been taking place for more than a decade, but was enhanced following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
‘We rely on lines [from other power companies] to help service Terrebonne Parish, Voisin said. ‘Before we spend any taxpayer money [on this project] I would like to know what percentage of cost [the parish would incur] and what percentage of usage we would get.
‘This [project] has been going on for quite a long time, Bourg said. ‘The reason we promoted [the new facility] is as a hedge to the potential retirement of the [coal fired] Rodemacher Plant in Alexandria [which the parish uses as a support source], due to emission regulations. It is also a hedge against what is unavoidable reduced reliability of our [25-megawatt Houma Generating] plant due to age and obsolescence.
Bourg said that while it is unlikely that customers will see any reductions on their monthly statements, an updated system would help insure reliability and run roughly 50 percent more efficiently than the current facility used by approximately 12,000 Houma customers. With a new power plant, the Houma generating facility, according to Bourg, would receive a 22 megawatt boost to what it is currently able to produce.
Voisin said that although parish councils of the past have been informed of potential utility expansion, the currently seated council has not been sufficiently involved in the decision making process. ‘I don’t know why Morgan City was selected for a location, Voisin said. ‘I know in the past money has been spent on studies and little benefit has come from them. I’ve not really been part of the loop on this. I really can’t tell you what is involved.
Depending on their locations, residents and businesses of Terrebonne Parish receive electric services from Terrebonne Parish Utilities, Entergy or South Louisiana Energy Cooperative. The most recent utility expansion at the more than 40-year-old Houma facility took place in 1975.
‘[There will be] higher capital costs, but lower operating costs, Bourg said. ‘[It] will probably be a push in the short term, but in the higher natural gas cost environment it would be a substantial hedge.’
Morgan City Utilities Director William Cefalu explained that Morgan City was selected as the facility site because it had existing property that could easily accommodate construction, while Houma’s generating plant does not have the real estate available for needed expansion. ‘Really it’s just in the engineering phase right now,’ he said.
According to information provided by Burns and Roe, the project would be interconnected to the Cleco Power LLC with radial transmission lines via Morgan City. It has an anticipated commercial operation date of June 1, 2015.
Terrebonne Parish power plant instrument technician Chester Champagne offers assistance at lawn care along the facility fence line. A cooperative effort with other utility providers could offer updates and reduced customer costs that the 40-year-old facility has been unable to provide. MIKE NIXON
