I think they stopped using it in 2007 - I guess it never came back online even with the rolling brownouts we had a couple of years back. Strange. Not sure 200 CFS would do much anyway.

It looks like they have kept the flow the same because of the FERC rules but may or may not continue to have the 200cfs release once decommissioned.


November 10, 2010
Lost generation
BRA to decommission PK Lake power plant

By Libby Cluett Mineral Wells Index

WACO � The Brazos River Authority board of directors moved forward Monday on decommissioning the hydroelectric generation facility at Morris Sheppard Dam at Possum Kingdom Lake.

In a special meeting, the BRA board unanimously passed a resolution instructing authority staff to �take any and all steps necessary to surrender the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license and to decommission the hydroelectric generation facility,� according to a BRA press release issued Tuesday.

In 2007 the hydroelectric plant � consisting of two 11.25 megawatt electric turbine generators and associated infrastructure � �was shut down because of some problems with it,� said BRA Director and area representative Richard Ball.

Prompted by electrical problems, the BRA hired an engineering firm to examine the plant, according to Public Information Officer Judy Pierce. She said the firm advised shutting the plant about three years ago.

The BRA took the 70-year-old plant off-line at that time due to safety concerns with the penstocks � large intake pipes controlling water flow � and electrical malfunctions within the system.

Since then, the BRA hired Stratus Energy Group to perform an analysis on the facility. Pierce said the BRA chose Stratus �because they know the Texas energy industry.�

Based on the group�s analysis, the BRA board determined that decommissioning the facility was the most prudent option.

Instead of generating revenue, Pierce said that over a 17-year period the BRA lost an average of $263,000 per year on the plant.

�It�s old and is going to take many millions of dollars,� Ball said of the facility.

�It was built in 1941 or �42 and it had served its purpose. It was worn out and was going to cost enormous sums of money to refurbish it and was still going to lose money and we didn�t need that for the BRA,� he added.

According to the BRA press release issued Tuesday, the cost to rehabilitate and relicense the plant and to operate it for a 40-year period would be �just under $105 million.�

�With a limited projected income from hydroelectric power generation during that period, the analysis anticipated the authority could expect to lose approximately $18 million over a 40-year period,� the BRA stated.

The next step for the hydroelectric facility is to �submit an application to FERC to decommission it and where it goes from there will be strictly up to FERC,� Ball said.

The BRA�s projected cost to decommission the plant is approximately $8 million, according to Tuesday�s press release.

Based on the board directive, BRA staff will prepare an application to surrender the FERC license that controls federal oversight of the plant facility, the designated FERC project area and other factors regarding the BRA�s role as the license�s local sponsor.

�Under FERC�s guidance and direction, the decommissioning process could take two to three years, though a specific timeline is unknown,� stated the announcement. �Until the process is complete the authority will continue to enforce its obligations under the terms of the existing FERC license.�

Pierce said BRA obligations include managing the current FERC shoreline setback area around the lake.

Flow

Pierce said she was not sure what FERC would require in the decommissioning process, but cited, �We will have to make changes to the dam and make a different type of release area available.�

Pierce said the plant operated as a peaking plant � providing power as needed � and at full capacity could release 3,000 cfs of water through the the plants turbines and two generators. Since shutting down the plant in 2007, she said the BRA has two ways to release water from Morris Sheppard Dam � through its large floodgates, which release up to 10,000 cfs, and through low-flow gates, which release up to 300 cfs.

�FERC determines how much water they want us to release each year,� said Pierce. �Over the summer [the dam] released 100 to 200 cfs all the time. FERC winter requirements are 54 cfs.�

The BRA is currently working on a study on flows between PK Lake, Lake Granbury and Lake Whitney, according to Pierce.

�Lake Granbury has been entirely full last year since the drought subsided,� she noted.

You'll see a lot more wildlife in the fall. The weather is pleasant and the colors are beautiful. The flow is usually lower but it is certainly do-able.

Fall is bliss on this section.