Utilities tapping natural gas-fired plants to meet consumer electricity demand

The summer's latest stretch of hot weather is requiring utilities to tap their new natural gas-fired power plants - including the 545- megawatt Port Washington plant dedicated August 2 - to meet customer demand for electricity.

The hot weather has air conditioners cranking across the state. Madison-based Wisconsin Power & Light Co. hit an all-time record on August 2, with more than 2,800 megawatts of electricity demand, spokesman Scott Smith said. Madison Gas & Electric Co. and We Energies saw strong demand but did not see a new record, spokesman MG&E Steve Kraus said.

We Energies came within 1 percent of setting an all-time record August 2. The day saw the highest demand for electricity so far this year, spokeswoman Wendy Parks said.

The Port Washington plant, built in the past two years, is the largest in a series of new power plants built in recent years by Wisconsin utilities to address the growing demand for electricity. Fueled by population and economic growth, demand for electricity is projected to keep growing at a rate of at least 2 percent to 3 percent a year in the state.

The plant, which sits on the shore of Lake Michigan at the site of a coal-fired power plant that was in operation from the 1930s until September, has the capacity to serve 275,000 homes.

Rick Kuester, We Energies executive vice president, said the new plant has been scheduled to run day and night for several days by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, the coordinator of a 15-state wholesale power market.

Utilities across the Midwest, he added, are using their coal plants less than normal at night because of coal-delivery problems tied to railroad track repairs.

The We Energies plant is the first of five new power projects the company is planning to build as part of its Power the Future strategy. That includes two natural gas-fired power plants in Port Washington, two coal-fired plants in Oak Creek, where construction started in June, and a wind-power project in Fond du Lac County.

Port Washington is one of four new natural gas-fired power plants that were turned on this summer. The others are a Calpine plant in Kaukauna, a Wisconsin Power & Light Co. plant in Sheboygan Falls, and a Madison Gas & Electric plant in Madison.

At the Port Washington plant's dedication, Gov. Jim Doyle said new plants and a reliable electricity supply are a key for the state's economic growth, particularly when the state was vulnerable to losing industries after Wisconsin ran short of power in the late 1990s.

"The Port Washington Generating Station not only runs cleaner than the old one but produces 50 percent more power as well," he said.

Wisconsin has made progress in building power plants and transmission lines but also needs to step up its commitment to renewable energy and conservation, Doyle said.

In an interview, Doyle said he would like to see a package on renewable power and energy efficiency adopted by the Legislature this fall.

A task force, which included representatives of all the state's utilities as well as environmental and customer groups, has recommended that the state secure 10 percent of its energy supply from renewable sources such as wind power by 2015.