Prairie State Coal Plant Tracker

BATAVIA, IL – “The Batavia City Council on Monday approved a resolution authorizing aldermen, Mayor Jeff Schielke and certain city staff members to receive confidential information related to the Prairie State Energy Campus in downstate Illinois.

…The agreement defined confidential information as trade secrets or economic data pertaining to the Prairie State Energy Campus as well as scientific, engineering, technical, commercial, organizational or administrative information.

In 2007, the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency, of which Batavia is a member, agreed to a long-term power contract to purchase electricity from the Prairie State Energy Campus in downstate Illinois.”

— Eric Schelkopf, Kane County Chronicle

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NEW YORK, NY — The City of Batavia, IL, a participant in the Prairie State coal plant, has used the resources of the Brattle Group, a national consulting firm, to analyze the cost of power from Prairie State compared to the market for the next ten years.

Last month, Batavia canceled its plans to sell all or part of its 55.2 megawatt share in Prairie State, announcing that it had not received any acceptable offers from potential buyers.

City Manager Gary Holm prepared an analysis for the February 19 meeting of the Public Utilities Committee  His memo included the following slide comparing the price that Batavia pays the Northern Illinois Municipal Power Authority (NIMPA)  as established in the Purchase Power Agreement for Prairie State Energy, with the projected  cost of power on the market:

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“The blue line represents a combination of known market forward prices for peak and off-peak
energy and Brattle’s projections for peak and off-peak energy. Peak energy is indexed to natural
gas generation which generally controls during peak times. Off-peak energy is indexed to coal
generation which generally controls during off-peak times.”

The analysis of the slide included the following observation:

“Assuming no increase in Prairie State costs and using Brattle’s future energy projections, the
‘crossover’ is estimated to occur beyond 2024.  This means that for the foreseeable future:

• The City is paying more for energy from Prairie State then it could otherwise purchase from the market
• The City is losing money on the sale of any excess power purchased from Prairie State and sold back into the market.”

— Tom Sanzillo, Director of Financial Analysis, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

Robert Delp, general manager of Farmer’s Mutual EC, discusses a proposed merger with Jo-Carroll Energy.

JACKSONVILLE, IL — “Members of Farmers Mutual Electric Company voted Nov. 13 to accept a proposed merger with Jo-Carroll Energy.

…’The result of this merger will offer a level of assurance that quality service will be maintained, additional services provided and stable rates maintained,’ said Tom Zwica, board president of Farmers Mutual.

Jo-Carroll Energy will benefit from the wholesale power agreement Farmers Mutual Electric has with Prairie Power, Inc. The Jacksonville, Ill.-based G&T has an ownership interest in the Prairie State Energy Campus at Marissa, Ill. A new 1,600-megawatt coal-based power project built at the mouth of a mine with a 30-year coal supply available is expected to provide low-cost energy to its members.”

— Derrill Holly, Electric Co-op Today

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Public Works–Electric Director Mark Curran unveiled a proposal to increase electric rates by 2 percent for the next three fiscal years.

NAPERVILLE, IL — “Curran said that Naperville had several advantages in containing energy costs in the immediate future. Currently 61 percent of Naperville’s energy, obtained through the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, comes from coal. That coal comes from two sources, the downstate Prairie State Energy Campus and Trimble County Coal Plant in Kentucky.

One advantage is that with Prairie State, the city secured a 30-year supply of coal whose costs will never increase. The cost of delivery and wages for personnel may rise with the cost of living, but the actual energy source will remain constant.

Also, the majority of the facilities at both locations are already compliant with EPA regulations set to go into effect 2018 for coal plants, city officials said.”

— Hank Beckman, Naperville Sun

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Jason Plummer, left, and Bill Enyart during a debate at Lindenwood University earlier this month.

BELLEVLLE, IL — ”The Prairie State Energy Campus smokestack towers 700 feet above the rolling farm fields and pastureland that stretch for miles in all directions near Lively Grove.

Dense plumes of cotton-white steam gush from the smokestack, billowing lazily into the late October sky from the $5 billion state-of-the-art coal-fired power plant, whose first 800 megawatt generator came online in June.

If the federal government is conducting a so-called ‘war on coal,’ as Republican candidates nationwide are declaring this year, Prairie State and the coal mine across the road stand as a shining, if rare, victory for Southern Illinois’ most iconic industry.

The future of coal and other energy concerns have become major themes in the race for Congress in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District between Republican Jason Plummer, Democrat Bill Enyart and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw.”

— Mike Fitzgerald, Belleville News-Democrat

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NAPERVILLE, IL — “Mark Curran, director of the electric division of Naperville’s public utility, doesn’t argue with the assertion that construction cost overruns at the 1,600-megawatt, coal-fired electrical power station and coal mine have added to the likely expense for consumers down the line. But he disputes forecasts from plant opponents that the facility’s complications will mean as much as twice the original cost for Naperville and five other Illinois municipalities that several years ago inked a deal to buy coal-derived energy through the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency.

‘That’s not going to happen. It’s just one resource in our whole portfolio,’ Curran said, adding that the Prairie State commitment is only 25 percent of the utilities’ investment. ‘That’s way, way out there.’

Kady McFadden disagrees. The St. Charles resident, organizing representative for the Sierra Club’s Illinois chapter, cited significant cost increases since the city partnered with Peabody Energy to help fund the power plant.

‘The main concern is what Peabody promised to the city of Naperville when they came to Naperville many years ago and convinced the city to sign a contract with them,’ McFadden said. ‘Peabody promised prices at $40 per kilowatt hour, and it’s looking like prices across the country are higher than that.’”

— Susan Frick Carlman, Naperville Sun

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WINNETKA, IL — “After a new study was released revealing Winnetka residents might pay more for coal power than their green-energy neighbors, representatives with the village’s power supplier are coming out with guns blazing.

Kevin Gaden, President and CEO of the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, says last week’s study from clean energy activists is ‘deeply flawed,’ citing roughly six areas in the document that he said are ‘simply false.’

‘On August 29, an organization called the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis released a report that purports to demonstrate that the Prairie State Generating Company is uneconomic and a detriment to those power suppliers that are partial owners,” explained Gaden in a press release. ‘…This study’s authors either don’t understand or chose to ignore the facts related to PSGC or the energy markets.’”

— Andy Ambrosius, Winnetka Patch

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Coal burning power plant

WINNETKA, IL — “Rather than paying $41 per megawatt hour as the Midwestern contracted communities were promised, they will be paying closer to $60. That’s if the communities were to receive 100 percent of their electricity from the plant. While Winnetka is contracted to receive only 25 percent its energy from Prairie State, that contract expires in 2035.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kenilworth recently aggregated its energy, locking in some of the lowest energy rates in the north shore. Residents and small businesses will pay 4.11 cents per kilowatt-hour for 100 percent renewable energy, while Winnetka’s 2012-2013 purchase power rate is 5.47 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Sixty percent of Winnetka’s power is sourced from fossil fuels, while just five percent of the energy is provided by a long-term contract for wind energy generated in Lee and Dekalb counties. While Winnetka is contracted with IMEA, Kenilworth residents are expecting to save around $600 from September through May 2013 by switching from Commonwealth Edison to a greener aggregated energy source.”

— Andy Ambrosius, Winnetka-Glencoe Patch

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Illinois communities that bought into the promise of cheaper rates from a clean-coal plant in southern Illinois may experience buyers’ remorse when their bills arrive

SPRINGFIELD, IL — “Sandy Buchanan, executive director of Ohio Citizen Action, the state’s largest consumer and environmental organization, said ratepayers there have not been given full and complete information about the Prairie State project, its operations, the financial risk and the cost.

‘What today’s report shows is that the coal plant is turning out to be the financial nightmare many of us feared when the plant was proposed,’ she said.

Peabody announced plans for the Prairie State Energy Campus in 2001, when the economy was better and the demand for electricity was higher. The company currently has a 5 percent stake in the project.”

— Jayette Bolinski, Quincy Journal

BELLEVILLE, IL — “Consumers receiving energy from the new Prairie State Energy Campus in rural Washington County are seeing higher utility bills than they were initially told, according to a report released Wednesday by a group that researches energy issues.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis report says that the cost will be 40 percent to 100 percent more than was initially advertised when St. Louis-based Peabody Energy announced plans for the 1,600-megawatt, coal-fired electrical power plant.

A representative from Prairie State could not be reached for comment.

Peabody sold 95 percent of its stake in the plant in 2007 to a number of entities that represent 217 municipalities and 17 electric membership cooperatives in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. According to IEEFA’s website, those Illinois communities include Freeburg, Mascoutah, Highland, Breese, Red Bud and Waterloo.”

— Belleville News Democrat

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