Many of you, no doubt, have read news accounts on a hearing held in northwest Arkansas by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. The matter was about the Gentry Power Plant jointly owned by Swepco and Arkansas Electric.
The matter discussed was the Gentry Power Plant, a coal burning plant. A very efficient operation that keeps power bills down to northwest Arkansas consumers. Its operation ensures folks in the area with a cheap and dependable source of power. The state public service commission said rather than add scrubbers to meet new EPA rules they wanted the Gentry plant switched to natural gas. The Arkansas Attorney general said the same thing at this meetings rather than improve a plant that has no record of pollution these modifications would make it completely up to date with any regulation.
You can’t change that plant to natural gas because there is no large gas line close to feed it. That means a new gas plant would have to be built, no doubt over in Oklahoma – but the cost would be passed on to consumers in northwest Arkansas. I would estimate that the Gentry School system receives a million dollars a year in property taxes from this project. The payroll loss would mean over a hundred employees would lose their jobs. The railroad that supplies the coal would have one more reason to shut down their tracks.
Many officials spoke at the hearing and told the commission how important competitive electric rates are in encouraging new businesses to move here. These rates are as important to them as they are to the consumers served by this plant. Start by talking to people living on social security who can barely get by without adding higher rates. Talk to poultry farmers who have large houses to light and ventilate and tell them their electric bills are going to soar. Talk to small plant owners who use power to light and make motors run.
Why was the attorney general of Arkansas putting in his two cents? No one has that answer. That plant does not violate any environmental laws. The Florida Bass in that hot pond are not contaminated. And are so healthy the last time I was there, the fish and game sign said take them home to eat them.
Arkansas Electric buys power from windmills in Kansas, has built several generating power plants on Arkansas River dams, and gets electricity from the regions federal dams. That is green power but it is not on all the time so plants like the one in Gentry are the real workhorses for our electrical needs.
Natural gas rates are low today because we have lots of it. But natural gas is just another fuel and economists predict it will rise in price like any competitive fuels cost for a BTU of energy. The man who brought on all this carbon business, now says it is not the answer to our weather change. Some folks are not listening. Tell your state senator and legislative candidates to get on the right track and worry about their consumers. The Gentry Power Plant needs to stay in operation.
God bless you and America, Dusty Richards
Western novelist Dusty Richards and his wife Pat live on Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas. For more information about his books you can email Dusty by visiting ozarksfn.com and clicking on ‘Contact Us’ or call 1-866-532-1960.
