Natural gas plant to power Houma, MC

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Two Tri-parish cities will ink their share of a deal on Oct. 17 that calls for the construction of a $108 million natural gas plant in 2014.

The Morgan City-based project, initiated by the Louisiana Energy Power Authority, will supply electricity in part to residents in Houma and Morgan City, as well as those who live in Vidalia, Jonesville, Rayne and Plaquemine.


The plant’s electrical generators will be turned by a natural gas-powered turbine and by steam generated from trapped exhaust heat. It will produce 64 megawatts of electricity, including 25 MW for Houma and 10 for Morgan City.

The project is “a golden opportunity to furnish Houma residents with the best service possible,” Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet said.

Claudet explained for years, customers have had to rely on the Houma power plant and its 40-year-old steam turbines to provide power. Houma has roughly 12,000 utility customers.


“While our customers haven’t experienced brown outs or rolling blackouts, a move like this will ensure that our folks are getting great service, at the most reasonable economic cost,” he said.

First-term Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said while the plant will provide consumers with dependable and secure utility reliability over the next 30 years, it is not a permanent fix for the woes the city has experienced since the city’s 100 megawatt transformer exploded last summer.

“Just two weeks ago, a fan motor went down inside one of the steam units at the LEPA plant here in Morgan City,” Grizzaffi said. “That’s something that couldn’t be repaired right away. As a result, we had rolling blackouts from 2 to 6 p.m. that day, some areas maybe 2 to 7 p.m.


“This was a LEPA issue, not a city issue. However, we are perceived at fault by some members of the public. … Frankly, our problem is that our equipment is old and it has limited capabilities.”

Morgan City business owner Deborah Price said Grizzaffi and the steam plant crews are doing the best they can with what they have, which isn’t much.

“Our present steam plant is run and supposedly maintained by LEPA,” Price said. “The problem is that past Morgan City administrations have not held LEPA’s feet to the fire about maintaining our plant,” Price said. “What happened was not a recent event, it’s been going on for years. … LEPA refuses to replace worn out and wearing parts until they actually break, and then we’re left with no electricity. And the poor guys who work at the steam plant are left trying to get this worn out equipment up and running on a wing, a prayer, and their ingenuity.”


Former Morgan City Mayor Tim Matte serves as LEPA’s vice chairman. He said contracts should be awarded and finalized in January, with ground breaking scheduled for April. “Right now, commercial operation of the plant is expected for

October of 2015,” Matte said.

Matte detailed the costs as $64 million for construction, $19.8 million for a combustion turbine generator, $7.8 million for the heat-recovery steam generator, $5.1 million for a steam generator and $1 million to install transformers.


Grizzaffi and Claudet each stressed that the plant will provide the best costs for consumers.

Aside from the pending news of the new natural gas power plant, Grizzaffi said Morgan City officials are installing a new 100-megawatt transformer, a replacement for the one that exploded in last year.

He noted the city has opted to install the new transformer at a different location, near an electric substation situated behind the city’s wastewater treatment plant.


He explained by locating the transformer behind the treatment plant, it assures the city will have a back-up to the smaller unit, which is located in front of the steam plant off Railroad Avenue.

The city will not have to issue long blackout periods to install the new transformer, and the city will never be in the same position it was in when the explosion occurred, Grizzaffi said.

“The new transformer should be energized and in use by mid-December, which will put us in a whole lot better situation than we are now,” the mayor said.


Workers install a 100-megawatt transformer in St. Mary. The unit replaces the transformer that was destroyed last year in a fire.

HOWARD J. CASTAY JR. | TRI-PARISH TIMES