IPL Touts Proposed Power Plant
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Power & Light Co. is detailing its reasons for a new $631 million power station. The utility has submitted testimony with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in a case involving the proposed facility near Martinsville. President Kelly Huntington says the plant is the “most affordable and reliable solution” for customers as IPL continues to diversify power generation resources. October 9, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis — Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) has filed testimony with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) in its pending case requesting a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to build a new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station near Martinsville. This $631 million investment will help IPL meet the future power needs of its customers by constructing one of the cleanest, most efficient thermal power plants ever to be built in Indiana.
“IPL is focused on continuing to diversify our generation resources as we work to meet future electricity needs,” said Kelly Huntington, IPL President. “Building this natural gas-powered plant is the most affordable and reliable solution for our customers.”
In 2013, IPL was recognized as a top utility for renewable power programs by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Solar and wind are important components of IPL’s generation portfolio, but they alone cannot reliably meet the needs of IPL customers. IPL continues to work towards a balanced generation portfolio with cleaner, more efficient options while maintaining the reliability its customers expect. In 2007, 86% of IPL’s generating capacity came from coal or oil. Current plans, subject to IURC approval, will include 54% coal, 34% natural gas, 10% wind and solar, and 2% oil by 2017. In addition, IPL continues to offer a wide variety of programs to help customers manage their electric bills by using energy more wisely.
IPL plans include retiring nine units at the Eagle Valley and Harding Street Generating Stations which are fired by coal or oil. As part of the same pending case, IPL also plans to refuel two units at the Harding Street Generating Station from burning coal to utilizing natural gas to create electricity. The proposed Martinsville natural gas plant will generate about 650 megawatts of electricity more efficiently and with fewer environmental emissions. The project is expected to bring 660 construction jobs and 25 permanent positions at the new plant, as well as more than $1.6 million per year into Morgan County through local tax revenue. The overall anticipated economic benefit to the state during construction is more than $857 million and another $48 million per year during operation.
Those interested in learning more about the project are invited to visit www.iplpower.com/generation. Questions about the project can be sent to IPLanswers@aes.com.
About Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL): Indianapolis Power & Light Company provides retail electric service to more than 470,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, as well as portions of other Central Indiana communities surrounding Marion County. During its long history, IPL has supplied its customers with some of the lowest-cost, most reliable power in the country. IPL has received the “Highest Customer Satisfaction With Business Electric Service in the Midwestern U.S. among Midsize Utilities,” according to J.D. Power and Associates’ 2013 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study. For more information about the company, please visit www.IPLpower.com.
Indianapolis Power & Light received the highest numerical score among midsize utilities in the Midwestern region in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2013 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction StudySM. Study based on 25,794 total online interviews ranking 12 providers in the Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI). Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of business users surveyed April-June and September-December 2012. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.comSource: Indianapolis Power & Light