Georgia Power said it will ask the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) to allow it to switch two of its coal-fired electricity generating units to natural gas and to decertify 13 coal- and oil-fired generating plants in its fleet when it files an updated integrated resource plan with the PSC on Jan. 31.

“These decisions were made after extensive analysis and are necessary in order for us to maintain our commitment to provide the most reliable and affordable electricity to our customers,” said Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers. “We are in the midst of a significant transition in our fleet that will result in a more diverse fuel portfolio — including nuclear, 21st Century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency — to ensure we maintain our commitment for generations to come.”

The Southern Company subsidiary plans to request that units 6 and 7 at the Plant Yates in Coweta County switch from coal to natural gas, and Unit 1 at Plant McIntosh, near Savannah, GA, switch from Central Appalachian coal to Powder River Basin coal. “The fuel switches are the result of the company’s evaluation of the MATS [Mercury and Air Toxics Standards] rule, other existing and expected environmental regulations, and economic analyses,” Georgia Power said. The company also plans to convert Plant Mitchell Unit 3 in Albany, GA, to biomass from coal.

Georgia Power plans to retire units 3 and 4 at Plant Branch in Putnam County, units 1-5 at Plant Yates, units 1 and 2 at Plant McManus in Glynn County and units 1-4 at Plant Kraft in Chatham County. Kraft Unit 4 is oil- or gas-fired and McManus units 1-2 are oil-fired; all of the other units are coal-fired.

The company expects to ask for decertification of the units, other than Kraft 1-4, by April 16, 2015, the effective date of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) MATS rule. The company expects to seek a one-year extension of the MATS compliance date for Plant Kraft and to retire those units by April 16, 2016. The PSC is expected to vote on the decertification request this summer.

In October Georgia Power’s Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Smyrna, GA, completed a transition to natural gas from coal (see Daily GPI, Oct. 30, 2012). The plant’s three units represent one of the largest generation sources on Georgia Power’s system, capable of producing more than five times the electricity of the two coal units that were retired.

Georgia Power serves 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties. CEO Tom Fanning last year said the company’s fuel mix estimates were 47% gas and 35% coal, with the remaining coming from nuclear and hydroelectric sources (see Daily GPI, April 27, 2012). By comparison, Southern’s portfolio just five years ago was 16% gas, 70% coal-fired generation and 14% other.

Implementation of MATS and three other proposed or finalized EPA regulations affecting coal-fueled electricity generating units could prompt the retirement nationwide of as much as 12% of coal-fired capacity, with natural gas expected to replace much of that, according to a report last year from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (see Daily GPI, Aug. 20, 2012).

As many as 353 coal-fired generators totaling 59 GW, about 18% of the country’s coal-fired generating capacity, should be considered for closure, in addition to 41 GW of coal retirements that have already been announced, according to a recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (see Daily GPI, Nov. 13, 2012). The plants were recommended for closure based on economic criteria, according to the report.

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