Southern Company quickly turning to natural gas over coal
Portland, Maine (Platts)--25Apr2012/518 pm EDT/2118 GMT
Southern Company's natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants ran
at a 70% capacity factor in the first quarter, reflecting the
Atlanta-based utility company's shift toward natural gas.
In past years, the combined-cycle plants had roughly 30% capacity
factors, Southern Chairman, President and CEO Thomas Fanning said
Wednesday during a conference call with analysts. Southern expects to
burn about 600 Bcf this year, up from about 430 Bcf last year and about
200 Bcf in 2007, Fanning said.
Southern expects its power plants to burn about 45 million tons of coal
this year, down from about 56 million tons last year and about 80
million tons in 2007, Fanning said. In response, Southern is
renegotiating some of its coal contracts and seeking additional coal
storage, he said.
Southern expects its subsidiaries to get about 47% of their energy
from natural gas and 35% from coal this year, Fanning said.
Looking ahead, Southern's four regulated utilities -- Georgia Power,
Gulf Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power -- probably have enough
generation for the rest of the decade, although some natural gas-fired
generation could be added in Georgia, Fanning said.
Additional nuclear investments could offer an opportunity for growth,
Fanning said. Georgia Power and partners are building the 2,200-MW
Vogtle units 3 and 4. More nuclear capacity could be needed by the mid
2020s, Fanning said, noting that spending on the additional capacity
could start later this decade.
Also, additional spending will like be needed to meet emerging
environmental regulations, Fanning said.
"It seems like there's always something out there [to invest in],"
Fanning said.
--Ethan Howland,
newsdesk@platts.com
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