Residents opposed to new KCP&L power plant at Iatan

PLATTE CITY, MISSOURI - The neighbors, parents and shareholders showed up with a purpose - to tell the Missouri Public Service Commission why a proposed power plant shouldn't be built.

About 40 persons attended a public hearing on the plant Tuesday night at the Platte County Administration Building in Platte City. Another hearing was held earlier that day at the Jackson County Courthouse.

The hearing was an effort to aid the commission, which is charged with deciding whether a set of proposals by Kansas City Power & Light Co. should proceed. The commission's job is to ensure adequate service from public utility companies.

KCP&L has proposed an 800- to 900-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Iatan, Mo., next to its Iatan 1 plant. It also wants to build a wind farm in Kansas and cut pollution from two other coal-fired plants.

In addition to environmental concerns, the new plant worries customers because it could result in a 15 to 20 percent rate increase.

Ron McLinden said he owned stock in KCP&L but disagreed with its need for a new plant.

"The company's plan is based on the 19th-century premise that an adequate standard of living requires us to consume more and more resources, including electricity," he said.

Like many others, McLinden stressed that KCP&L should work more on generating electricity from environmentally friendly sources.

Commission chairman Jeff Davis asked many who testified if they would support a surcharge on their bill for better control of pollution from KCP&L's two existing plants, and most said they would. Davis also questioned whether wind farms could produce enough energy to make up for projected increases in electricity demand.

A few testimonies were more personal. Alicia Johnson said she was against the power plant because of her son, Quinn. She said she thought the fly ash and smoke from the plant would exasperate Quinn's respiratory problems.

"There are times when I lay with him at night that I'm not sure if he'll be awake in the morning," Johnson said.

Before the hearing, the commission's staff gave a synopsis of how the public hearing process worked. The audience was allowed to ask questions of KCP&L and the Office of Public Counsel, said Gregg Ochoa, public information coordinator for the commission. Audience members focused their questions on previous public hearings.

A few audience members criticized the Office of Public Counsel for its representation of tax payers and its mechanism of gathering information from citizens. Michael Dandino, senior public counsel, said compromise is necessary and his office strives to serve the public.

The comments and exhibits presented at the hearing will be reviewed by the commission after a formal hearing June 6-8 in Jefferson City.

The commission will also receive information from the Concerned Citizens of Platte County, the Sierra Club and KCP&L.