Author:
Mike C of Manchester
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Date Posted: 17:12:23 09/21/11 Wed
shutdown of Tanners Creek coal fired generators 1, 2, and 3 located in Lawrenceburg by December 31, 2014.
We must actively pursue all reasonable measures to provide for our state’s energy demands in a way that minimizes contaminants in the air we breathe and the water we drink. I also believe, however, that proper planning is required as we pursue “clean” energy production.
The Tanner’s Creek facility in Lawrenceburg generates approximately 1,000 MW of energy production per year. If we were to lose 498 MW of energy production per year, Indiana would experience rolling “brown outs” (i.e., a temporary interruption of power service in which the electric power is reduced, causing lights to flicker and dim and causing problems with electrical appliances and devices, such as computers) during peak usage, which occurred most recently this past July. Immediately closing the Tanner’s Creek facility without another viable and readily available energy production facility would leave Hoosiers with an insufficient supply of energy. A clear plan to replace the coal-fired plants will take time. Tanners Creek 1, 2, and 3 are set to be retired by 2019. It will take several years to build natural gas replacements.
Additionally, we must carefully balance the direct and indirect effects associated with modifying and replacing our current energy production system. For instance, if we were to raise electric rates by 30%, those Hoosiers living on a fixed income may well have to chose between electricity, heat, food, and medicine when deciding how to spend their limited resources. I believe that through proper planning and growth, we can begin modifying and replacing our current energy production system with one based more upon clean energy methodologies without causing financial and health-related burdens on those who are least able to pay for higher electric rates.
The Indiana Legislature has begun pursuing cleaner and more efficient sources of energy production. Senate Enrolled Act 251, for example, was passed during the 2011 session and provides incentives to energy producers to obtain cleaner energy. Specifically, SEA 251 requires the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to adopt rules to establish the voluntary clean energy portfolio standard program to provide incentives to electricity suppliers to obtain specified percentages of electricity from clean energy sources.
Randy Frye
State Representative
Indiana House District 67
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