Morro Bay Power Plant to cease operations in February

Nov 08 - Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA)

The Morro Bay Power Plant, which became a fixture of the city's landscape and a major contributor to the city budget 60 years ago, will be retired around February, a spokesperson for the plant's owner confirmed Friday.

"We sent our companywide third-quarter earnings yesterday, and included in that we announced that we would be filing paperwork yesterday with the various state agencies to notify them of our intention to retire that facility," said Katy Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Dynegy, the Houston-based company that has owned the plant since 2007.

A decade ago, former owners Duke Energy talked of spending $800 million to modernize the plant, known for its trio of 450-foot stacks that have become as much of a Morro Bay landmark as the 580-foot Morro Rock, which sits in the ocean nearby. But Dynegy opted not to modernize. Instead, the plant has operated intermittently, typically only during times of peak power demand.

While the plant has added $800,000 to the city budget every year, Mayor Jamie Irons, a former employee of the plant, said the city has budgeted for the possibility of losing that money for the past several years.

"That has taken place over five years," he said. "So we've basically have zeroed out that revenue."

Roughly 40 employees will be impacted by the plant's retirement. Those employees might be offered jobs elsewhere or a severance, Sullivan said.

Dynegy has yet to decide what to do with the plant. One option being considered would entail producing renewable energy at the site in conjunction with Starwood Energy Group of Connecticut.

This story will be updated as more details become available. Please check back for more information.

___

(c)2013 The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

Visit The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) at www.sanluisobispo.com

http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=30584232&