An updated analysis

conducted by Rocky Mountain Power suggests

it would lower costs for customers if it

sped up the retirement of four power-generating

units in Southwest Wyoming, including

two units at the Jim Bridger Power Plant.

The other two units are at the Naughton

Plant in Lincoln County.

However, while the company’s Integrated

Resource Plan recommends early closure for

the four units, RMP doesn’t have a plan in

place.

“We don’t know the plan of what we’re

going to do,” RMP President and CEO Gary

Hoogeveen told a group of officials representing

Rock Springs, Sweetwater County and the

state Wednesday.

The company will produce a plan to handle

the possible closures Aug. 1.

The IRP looked at RMP’s 22 coal-fired

plants to determine if savings could be found

if units could be closed as early as 2022. It also

analyzed the difference between specific coal

units and newer resources and energy conservation.

The plan is updated every two years,

studying the best resource mix to provide customers

with reliable access to electricity for a

20-year period. According to Hoogeveen, customers

would save approximately $248 million

if the company sped up retirement plans

for the four units. RMP plans to study other

factors related to the retirements, including

how employees and the communities would

be impacted.

Hoogeveen said the retirements would

likely be staggered, with the first occurring in

2022, but said other unit closures could take

place between 2022 and 2028 potentially.

According to Senior Vice-President of

Thermal Generation and Mining, Dana

Ralston, the company is not sure how many

employees the closures would impact. If the

unit retirements were staggered out, he believes

RMP could avoid layoffs by adjusting

staffing levels at Jim Bridger and eliminating

positions through attrition. He admits that goal

would be much more difficult if the units were

retired at the same time. However, with only

two units planned for operation into the 2030s,

Ralson also said it would be difficult to maintain

both the mine at Bridger and Black Butte.

The Jim Bridger surface mine is tenatively

scheduled to close operations in 2028.

For the Jim Bridger Power Plant, the plant

is expected to reach the end of its lifespan in

2037, while the Naughton Plant’s lifespan anticipated

to end in 2027.

While many would blame politics as the

reason RMP is looking to retire the units early,

Hoogeveen said the decision comes purely at

an economic level. He said the public service

commissions RMP answers to mandates the

company provide electricity at the lowest

cost, while being reliable to customers. More

focus in wind and solar generation, including

RMP’s investment in wind turbines, have

made renewable sources of power cheaper to

produce.

Hoogeveen also claimed the savings the

company receives through renewable energy

tax credits or through cutting units in Wyoming

don’t go to RMP’s shareholders or its

parent company, Berkshire Hathaway.

The cost of retrofitting coal plants with the

latest emissions technology have made coal

power generation more expensive. The two

units reviewed in the IRP are the older units

at Jim Bridger. The cost to retrofit the units

with current emissions technology would not

be economical, according to company officials.

The cost to convert the units to using

natural gas would also be costly, especially

as infrastructure tying the plant to natural gas

lines would be needed. However, with units

three and four at Jim Bridger being what Hoogeveen

described as the most technologically

advanced in the nation in regards to emissions

controls, he said he sees a long life for the Jim

Bridger Power Plant.

The company plans to host monthly meetings

updating residents on their progress until

Aug. 1, when it releases its unit retirement

plan. Rick Link, Pacificorp vice-president of

resource planning and aquisitions said residents

can submit public comments on its IRP

through the RMP website. While he admits

this isn’t the greatest news for the community,

Hoogeveen said the recommendation does not

mean everything is finalized in regards to the

four units.

“We’re going to continue to talk about it,”

Hoogeveen said, “This is not done.”