JOPLIN, Mo. — The Empire District Electric Company announced on Thursday that it has filed a request with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to implement a cost recovery rider for the conversion of the existing Riverton Unit 12 to combined cycle operation.
With this filing, the APSC will establish a procedural schedule to determine the timeline for the review and effective date of the rider. If approved, the rider would result in an increase of approximately $5.75 a month for residential Arkansas customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of energy. Empire has approximately 4,400 customers in Arkansas.
The Riverton 12 Combined Cycle Unit replaces the production capacity of recently retired coal-fired generators at Riverton. The project was completed at a cost of $168 million. The conversion was necessary to comply with new Mercury Air Toxics Standards mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
In making the announcement, Brad Beecher, president and CEO, stated, "The Riverton Combined Cycle project was the most economic option to replace the coal units at Riverton and comply with the Mercury Air Toxics Standards. This new configuration captures the exhaust heat from the existing natural gas unit and uses it to power the new steam turbine. This highly efficient process will help us hold down fuel costs for customers while lowering emissions and protecting the environment."
Community on 07/27/2016