Opponents tout survey saying most Texans against fast-tracking

Washington (Platts)--7Dec2006

Four out of five Texas residents do not support Governor Rick Perry's plan to
fast track 12 or more new coal-fired power plants without first addressing the
effects of pollution, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The survey, Texas and Coal-Fired Power Plants, was conducted by Opinion
Research for the Environmen-tal Integrity Project. Based on 602 telephone
interviews, carried out over a five day period, the research firm found that
82% of respondents were concerned about the increased health risks associated
with pollution from the plants, 74% prefer major conservation efforts to
tackle energy needs and 85% want to see existing power plants in Texas cleaned
up before building new ones.

"This survey shows that Texas residents oppose fast tracking more dirty
coal-fired power plants," Ilan Levin, counsel for EIP, said during a
teleconference on Wednesday. "Governor Perry has no mandate from the public
for his plan to rubber stamp these plants."

But that's not the case, according to TXU, which wants to build 11 new units
fired by Powder River Basin coal and Texas lignite.

"It's important to note that we have more than 100 elected officials, cities
and individuals who are actively in support of our program," TXU spokeswoman
Kim Morgan told Platts on Wednesday. "Through our own research and polling, we
have found that the citizens of Texas want reliable power, lower prices and
better air quality, and our program accomplishes all three."

Alternatives touted
There are other paths to addressing the need for more energy in Texas,
according to Carol Biedrzycki, executive director for Texas Ratepayers'
Organization to Save Energy.

"One third of the coal plants could be replaced through energy efficiency and
other alternative sources," Biedrzycki said. "Plants that use landfill gas,
methane from cattle, biofuels ? the point is, we're not looking at any
alternatives."

Biedrzycki went on to say that the problem with the governor's plan is that
utilities don't have to demonstrate that alternatives might be better.

"Even if coal is a part of the energy source, we can do better with IGCC
[integrated gasification combined cycle]," Levin told reporters. "But that's
not what TXU is proposing to build."

In defending his executive order to fast track the plant, Perry said he
reduced the timetable for the air permits because "bureaucracy should not
hinder progress" and because "TXU's investment provides needed power and
reduces air emissions by 20%" (PCT 9/19).

TXU claims the supercritical pulverized-coal plants it is proposing would
reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury 20% from 2005 levels by
2011, while adding 9,079 MW of new generation (PCT 8/15).

Regina Johnson, regina_johnson@platts.com

For more news, request a free trial to Platts Coal Trader at
http://www.platts.com/Request%20More%20Information/index.xml?src=story