Cobb EMC's withdrawal won't delay coal plant development, backer says

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A day after the Cobb EMC board decided to pull out of development of a new coal plant, the group pushing the project remained adamant it still will be built.

“We’re disappointed in their decision and we respect their decision,” said Dean Alford, spokesman for Power4Georgians, a conglomerate of Georgia EMCs supporting the development of the $2 billion proposed Plant Washington coal plant near Sandersville. But, Alford said, “We are full-speed ahead and [Cobb EMC’s] decision doesn’t delay us.”

Several investors are interested in the plant, Alford said, though he did not release names of the possible investors or details about further investment plans.

Seven of the nine members of Cobb EMC’s board of directors voted Tuesday to move away from the proposed Plant Washington, which had been closely associated with former CEO Dwight Brown, and to discontinue the co-op’s financial investment in the project.

The Marietta-based co-op has already spent $13.5 million on the plant through Power4Georgians. Another $1.68 million was slated for payment this year.

“Whether [Cobb EMC] owns the plant, or operates it, or develops it, my stance has always been that wasn’t the EMC’s core business,” said David Tennant, one of four newly elected board members who voted to cut ties to the plant.

With the demand for power decreasing, the co-op’s 40 percent stake in the proposed plan was unnecessary, Tennant said.

When reached Wednesday, representatives at Power4Georgia’s other members referred calls to Alford, who said the remaining four co-ops --  the Snapping Shoals, Central Georgia, Washington and Upson EMCs -- remain invested in the plant’s development.

Alford also is president of Allied Energy, one of several Cobb EMC for-profit affiliates that a court ordered liquidated in 2009 under a settlement with customers over unrelated issues.

He could not provide information Wednesday regarding the other co-ops' investment in Power4Georgia, but information obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2010 showed Snapping Shoals had contributed $8 million toward development costs.

At that time Alford said the investment costs paid by the co-ops amounted to “just tens of cents” on [customers’] monthly bills and hadn’t pushed up rates. A study commissioned by consumer watchdog group Georgia Watch found that the Plant Washington proposal could increase Cobb EMC members’ yearly bills by $200.

Cobb EMC’s withdrawal from the coal plant development had been expected. Several board candidates, including Tennant, campaigned against the plant when running for office.

Several questions and environmental concerns surfaced last month after New Jersey-based LS Power canceled plans to build the Longleaf Energy Station coal plant in South Georgia as part of a settlement with the Sierra Club.

Cobb EMC said it is considering proposals from suppliers to meet its energy needs through 2021.

On Wednesday, environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, cheered Cobb EMC’s decision and called on other co-ops to follow suit.