Mississippi regulators on June 21 warned Southern Company and its Mississippi Power utility that they would not pass on more costs to ratepayers for the Kemper County integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant.
Regulators laid out the possibility of having the power plant run only on natural gas, setting up the possibility of scrapping the clean coal technology that would use lignite as a fuel stock. Regulators also do not want to pass on additional costs to customers.
Kemper County IGCCThe plant has primarily been running on natural gas, not coal, because engineers have struggled to make the clean coal technology consistently work.
"We are telling the parties to get a plan and get a settlement in 45 days that does not increase rates one penny," news reports quoted Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley as saying.
In a statement, Mississippi Power says the Commission established a process to address project costs and encouraged discussions among all parties to reach agreement.
The PSC provided several guidelines to consider for the negotiations, including the possibility of the project only operating as a natural gas-fueled combined cycle plant. The utility says it expects the process for any negotiations will be formally addressed as part of a proposed order the Commission will consider at its July 6 meeting.
(Read "Kemper County and the Perils of Clean Coal Technology.")
The Kemper project has achieved periods of integrated operation of both gasifiers and combustion turbines. It also has been producing sulfuric acid and ammonia, and has captured and transferred carbon dioxide. Altogether, the project has operated for around 200 days using lignite as a fuel.
The portion of the Kemper project currently being recovered in rates includes a portion of the project’s combined cycle generating plant, which has been supplying approximately one-third of the electricity used by Mississippi Power customers since August 2014. The plant has primarily been using natural gas as fuel, but has also been using syngas from the project’s gasifiers as they have been tested and operated.
IGCC technology turns coal into synthesis gas, a combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The syngas can then be cleaned of impurities, and burned to drive a turbine. Excess heat goes to power a steam turbine.
Kemper is years behind schedule and well over the $2.2-billion cost estimate given in 2010 when construction began.
To contact the author of this article, email david.wagman@ieeeglobalspec.com
