(Updated) New power plant unveiled; will provide stable long-term power rates

The newly completed Louisiana Energy and Power Authority power plant in Morgan City will help stabilize long-term power rates for member communities by reducing their reliance on less efficient power sources, officials said Friday.
LEPA dedicated its new $120.77 million power natural gas-fired, combined-cycle gas turned generating plant Friday on Youngs Road in Morgan City next to the horse arena. The plant is the first power plant to be built in south Louisiana in about 40 years and the first electrical power plant LEPA has ever built. The state Legislature created LEPA in 1979.
Six LEPA member municipalities, including Morgan City, Houma, Jonesville, Plaquemine, Rayne and Vidalia, participated in the project. Morgan City owns a 10-megawatt share of the 64-megawatt plant. Houma owns the largest share of the plant at 26 megawatts.
“It’s a big day for us at LEPA,” General Manager Cordell Grand said Friday.
“This is what happens when you get a bunch of people that are cooperative working together on the same goal,” Grand said.
Officials broke ground on the plant in April 2014. In November 2009, plans to build the new power plant started at a LEPA operating committee meeting. Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland encouraged Grand to look into the possibility of building the plant, Grand said.
LEPA began issuing bonds in 2013 to fund the construction of the plant, Grand said.
Morgan City Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi, who serves as LEPA board chairman, said LEPA’s mission is to provide members with a stable source of electricity at the lowest possible costs.
“I believe this plant right here will be a major part of completing that mission,” Grizzaffi said.
The new plant is much more efficient than the Joseph Cefalu Municipal Steam Plant, which is no longer in use in Morgan City, Grizzaffi said.
Residents won’t see an immediate impact to their power bills because of the low energy prices right now, Grizzaffi said. But, when natural gas prices start rising and utility costs increase, residents will start to see the benefits of more efficient power usage, Grizzaffi said.
LEPA officials have put the power plant through some initial runs and are doing “final check work” to prepare the unit for operation, Grand said.
By June 1, the plant will be putting power into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, market “on a daily basis,” Grand said. LEPA will be able to sell power through MISO to other communities.
None of the member communities involved in the project will rely on the new plant to supply their full power loads, Grand said.
The plant will run natural gas in a combustion turbine engine that will generate heat and then transfer the heat to a boiler to generate steam, Grand said.
“As a result, we’re actually getting two sources of electricity generating from one burn of natural gas,” Grand said.
Power plant workers will also use recycled wastewater from Morgan City’s wastewater treatment plant to help power the facility, Grand said.
The plant’s combined-cycle gas turbine technology is superior to conventional fossil-fueled generated plants because of its higher efficiency, lower environmental impact, lower capital costs and shorter construction, a news release stated.
Morgan City actually receives power directly through its connection to the power grid at Cleco’s Bayou Ramos Substation, Grizzaffi said. However, the new LEPA plant is “more than capable” of powering the city by itself on the rare occasions the city loses its feed to the Cleco substation, he said.
Copeland said he was “very proud” of what LEPA and all of those involved in building the plant accomplished, overcoming obstacles they faced along the way.
“I think this is just the beginning of many plants that this organization could create through the next years,” Copeland said.
Rayne Mayor Chuck Robichaux said communities, outside of the six members that participate in the project, will also get a really good product through additional utilities that LEPA plans to sell.
Terrebonne Parish Manager Al Levron said Terrebonne leaders expect the plant to provide “Houma and its utility customers a hedge on the future energy volatility” for many years.
“A huge network of people” helped make the plant a reality, including engineers, LEPA staff, financiers and many others, Grand said.
“This plant’s going to be here helping these municipalities for a good 40, 45 years,” Grand said.