Ceremony Marks Power Plant Construction

The mayors and utility officials for six Southern California cities participating in the 310-megawatt (MW) Magnolia Power Project (MPP) today marked the start of two years of construction work with a ground breaking and tree planting ceremony at Burbank Water and Power's (BWP) electric generating complex in Burbank.

When completed in mid-2005, the $234 million power plant will serve as a reliable and lower-cost electricity resource for not only Burbank but also Anaheim, Glendale, Pasadena, Cerritos and Colton, said Ron Davis, president of the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) and BWP general manager.

"SCPPA is very pleased to serve as MPP owner and financing agent so the six cities could build a generating unit much larger than any one city could utilize," he said. "By joining together, these six public power cities will provide consumers the unit's economy-of-scale benefits, including higher operating efficiency at reduced fuel usage and, therefore, lower energy cost.

"MPP electricity is expected to cost 4 to 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which helps maintain the traditionally lower electric rates enjoyed by municipal utility customers," Davis added. "Because of the unit's high efficiency, it will generate electricity competitively, even with fluctuating natural gas prices.

"For these cities, MPP operation will increase local control and reliability over their electricity supply because each city will be able to reduce its utilization of power resources in other western states that are delivered over long-distance transmission lines."

Davis, who also serves as the MPP project director, said that MPP construction represents a couple of "firsts" for SCPPA and California power plant licensing.

"This is the first time a group of our 11 members has developed a wholly SCPPA-owned generating project, and the first time the California Energy Commission and local air quality district have approved construction of a new power plant in an urban Southern California area," he said.

MPP construction involves installation of a clean and highly efficient combined-cycle electric generating unit in time to help the six cities meet peak summer electrical needs in 2005. Over the next 24 months, site work on a four-acre portion of BWP's 23-acre complex along Magnolia Boulevard will include installation of a natural gas-fueled combustion turbine-generator, a heat-recovery steam-generator and a steam-driven turbine-generator for operation in combined-cycle mode.

Along with utilizing the latest in air emissions controls, the project will use reclaimed wastewater for all of its power plant water requirements. All of this reclaimed wastewater will be used on site, thus eliminating any external discharge.

"Since MPP work will be concentrated at BWP's existing generating complex, any effects on the surrounding community will be minimized," Davis said. "Most of the work over the next six months will not be visible to the public since it will concentrate on preparation of equipment foundations. The more visible work will start in early 2004, once major pieces of prefabricated equipment are erected."

Today's event was attended by Burbank Mayor Stacey Murphy, Anaheim Public Utilities Board Chair Stephen Faessel, Glendale Mayor Frank Quintero, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Cerritos Mayor Gloria Kappe and Colton Mayor Deidre Bennett. To commemorate the start of construction, the six city officials planted a magnolia tree outside of what will be the entrance to the new MPP control and service building.