Luminant Announces Facility Closures, Job Reductions in Response to EPA Rule

Operational Response Plan
To ensure compliance in this extremely compressed time frame, production and operational changes will have to be made at two of the company's large power plant and mining complexes. Under the Electric Reliability Council of Texas's protocol, these decisions must be communicated to the Council by October 3 so they can adequately prepare for 2012.

At the Monticello Power Plant and supporting Thermo and Winfield mines in Northeast Texas, the following steps will be necessary:

� Monticello Units 1 and 2 will be idled. These units have a capacity of approximately 1,200 megawatts.

� Monticello Unit 3 will cease using Texas lignite for fuel and begin to operate on 100 percent Powder River Basin coal.

� Thermo and Winfield mines will cease mining Texas lignite with the idling of Monticello units 1 and 2 and the fuel switching at Monticello Unit 3, but Luminant will continue reclamation activities at these sites.

Wow! That is going to put a lot of folks out of a really good job for that area.

So only 1 unit will run now at Monticello?

Sucky way of losing fine jobs IMO!

That's what it sounds like. Texas lignite coal is not as clean buring as Powder River Basin coal.

Sounds to me like Units 1 and 2 were built to burn lignite only, while Unit 3 can handle various grades of coal.

That's all a guess but reading between the lines of Luminant's press release, that's what it sounds like to me.

Now whether Units 1 and 2 will be used as "peakers" during times of extreme electricity usage is not addressed, but I suspect they will be.

Thanks for some more government regulations, we loose more jobs. The EPA is about the most self serving government entity that exists. There is no one out there that wants clean air and water for the future more than I but, the EPA has cost us so many lost jobs and dollars.

Here's some more info on the story...

http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/09/12/luminant-sues-epa-says-two-coal-plants-will-close/

So only 1 unit will be keeping Monticello hot now. I wonder if the lunkers will return to the lake now? The convenience store wall photos tell the story.

Comments on that link are all over the place.

I used to call on that plant , was one of my accounts at one time, couple of yrs back. I have some good friends that work there.

I doubt they will peak 1 and 2, Steam machines take a while on the gear. Luminant has several sites with Gas Turbines they peak with that came come up quick.

I hate to see those big units come down, lots of people end up out of work and not a lot of high end jobs in that neck of the woods.

I worked for a contractor when unit 2 was built and fished the lake in my buddies 14 ft Terry Bass boat after work in the mid 70's. Guess my age is showing.

wow, that's gonna really hurt a lot of people around here. I hate to see it.

If our electricity usage was in emergency mode this summer,the closing of any plant could cause rolling outages next summer.

Short answer Yes maybe. There are lots of LNG plants & a few new ones coming on line that could take up the slack, but don't count on it.

Everyone needs to remember stuff like this when election time comes around, get educated and vote.

Right on with that Eddy, we all need to remember that and help make a differance come election time...

Do you have any idea how long it would take to covert 1&2 to burn the cleaner coal . ???

Thanks

This is your change. Obama and clean coal technology. Vote the fool out.