2 more co-ops drop out of coal plant group

Two more electric cooperatives that were part of a coalition that planned to invest in a new coal plant in Georgia have dropped out of the partnership.

Jackson EMC and Diverse Power said they have left Power4Georgians, joining GreyStone Power and Excelsior EMC on the sidelines.

The group, which originally was composed of 10 members, announced two years ago that it intended to build the coal plant in Washington County in Middle Georgia.

Jackson EMC, which serves the northeast Atlanta suburbs, joins GreyStone, which serves eight counties in the city’s western suburbs, as large metro area co-ops pulling out. Diverse serves several counties in west-central Georgia.

Bonnie Jones, a spokesperson for Jackson EMC, and Randy Pruett, spokesman for Diverse, both cited what Jones called, “a really uncertain regulatory environment,” in Washington, D.C.

“It made sense to back up and take a wait-and-see approach,” Jones said.

GreyStone Power CEO Gary Miller said his co-op withdrew from the project because of the uncertainty about carbon, which coal plants emit into the atmosphere.

Miller said GreyStone would consider buying power from the plant, if and when it gets built.

Dean Alford, a spokesman for Power4Georgians, said there’s no doubt the plant will be built because of the demand for power. He said the project would continue.

He said he expects the remaining six member co-ops to stay in the coalition and to benefit from better rates on power when the plant comes on line.

The project is currently in the permitting phase, he said.