Contract with coal plant is renewed

CITY HALL — Burbank Water and Power will renew a contract with a coal-driven power plant while phasing out the city's reliance on energy sources known to negatively affect the environment and perpetuate global warming.

The Delta, Utah-based facility plant, which has provided Burbank with more than half its electricity for 20 years, continues to supply a major share of the city's power portfolio because coal remains an efficient and cost-effective power source, Assistant City Manager Mike Flad said.

"In the end, we have a balanced portfolio with a lot of renewable sources," he said. "But the fact is that coal remains a very viable, consistent way to produce power."

The council's approval of the contract means that a recently passed state Senate bill, which forbids contract renewal with coal-driven electric plants, will not apply to Burbank Water and Power's contract, Burbank Water and Power's General Manager Ron Davis said.

The legislation, effective Jan. 1, 2007, is a move to stymie the production of carbon dioxide to start remedying the effects of green house gases, he said.

But if Water and Power were to opt against renewing its contract, no positive environmental steps would be made because the plant would still operate, with other utilities benefiting from inexpensive power — and not Burbank, he said. And Water and Power would have to replace the plant as a power source, he said.

"The world will be no better off and Burbank will face higher costs with no benefit," he said. "Plans to reduce CO2 should be done in accordance with the CO2 reduction plan that is under development. Turning the plant over to another party does not address the issue."

Instead, Water and Power plans to phase in more environmentally friendly power sources, in addition to wind and other alternatives that are already part of the portfolio. Such sources are expected to cut the utility's reliance on the coal plant from 50% to 30% after 2027.

QUESTION

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