SRP Rate Increase To Pay For New Coal Plant?!

According to this AZ Republic article, SRP isn't being very clear about what the money from the proposed rate increase will be used for. Is it for new renewable energy generation? Is it for energy efficiency programs? Will it be used to build new Coal Fired power plants?

"I can't see the justification for it," said Tim Hogan , executive director of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest . "Getting information out of them is like pulling teeth."

SRP says the money will be used to "maintain and upgrade existing power plants and transmission lines, manage diverse fuel sources and meet strict environmental requirements," according to its press release.

About 25 percent of the increase will go towards energy efficiency programs and renewable energy.

SRP said the remaining 75 percent of the proposed increase allows it to maintain aging power plants, transmission lines and distribution infrastructure and preserves diverse fuel sources.

The company said it also covers increased expenses from significant ongoing capital investments – such as the nearly completed Unit 4 at the existing Springerville [Coal] Generating Station, which will replace the energy produced by the now closed Mohave Generating Station in Nevada, and state-of-the-art emission-control technology at the Coronado Generating Station in St.

"First and foremost, SRP and utilities should focus on energy efficiency as a priority resource," said Diane Brown , executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group . Residents who attended an SRP-hosted informational fair in Gilbert Wednesday night were equally upset with the proposed increase, as well as the opening of a new coal plant.

Many attending the meeting said they expected it to be a forum for comment, but found only informational booths and SRP staffers fielding questions.

"It's a sales pitch," said Dianne Kling, of Gilbert. "They wanted to just do a PR."

Nichols said public comment will be accepted when the proposal is presented to SRP's board of directors in September. Another informational fair will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Supai Middle School in Scottsdale (6720 E. Continental Drive).

I will resist the temptation to list the myriad awful consequences that result from burning coal...

...no I won't:

Asthma, mercury pollution in fish, mountaintop removal, acid rain(largly mitigated by a cap and trade system in the '90s), coal ash, CO2.

Any assertion that Coal is cheaper than renewable power is neglecting the societal/environmental costs of these negative effects of mining and burning it.  Asthma, for example, results in a tremendous additional cost to our health care system.