EL PASO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the greenhouse gas
(GHG) permit for El Paso Electric's (EPE) Montana Power Station in Far
East El Paso, which will become effective 30 days from the date of
issuance unless it is appealed. EPA's permit action follows the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality's decision in January 2014 to issue
a separate permit for emissions other than GHG. Issuance of the EPA
permit at this time allows EPE to stay on track to bring the first two
units of the power station online by summer of 2015, so that EPE can
timely meet the growing needs of the communities it serves.
In a statement issued yesterday in response to comments on the GHG
permit, EPA "take[s] notice that El Paso Electric Company at its own
initiative also undertook special efforts to reach resolution with
community members, including reaching an agreement for ongoing community
engagement through a citizen advisory panel. … Although every situation
is different, EPA has generally recognized that community engagement
efforts on the part of a permit applicant are commendable. These efforts
appear to have proved beneficial in this case."
Even so, EPA's decision may be appealed by Sierra Club's San Francisco
office as part of its national "Beyond Gas" campaign. The contemplated
timeline allows for any appeal of the permit, which EPE expects would be
resolved by late this summer. EPE will then spend the next nine months
constructing the first two units and have them completed by the end of
May 2015.
"This is a great step in validating EPE's efforts to meet the growing
energy needs of our communities with cost-effective new technologies,
including clean-burning natural gas, which will help expand our solar
energy portfolio and serve to retain EPE's position as a national leader
with one of the lowest carbon footprints of any utility of our size in
the U.S.," said Tom Shockley, EPE's Chief Executive Officer. "EPA's
professionalism throughout this extended process should be commended. We
appreciate the thoroughness of their review process and their diligence
in considering all issues raised by commenting parties. We also
appreciate our neighbors' willingness to hear us out, and their
constructive participation in these public review processes."
For more information regarding the EPE Air Permit, please visit their
website at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/r6/Apermit.nsf/AirP#A.
El Paso Electric (NYSE:EE) is a regional electric utility
providing generation, transmission and distribution service to
approximately 394,000 retail and wholesale customers in a 10,000 square
mile area of the Rio Grande valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico.
El Paso Electric has a net dependable generating capability of 1,852
MW.
El Paso Electric
Public Relations:
Eddie Gutierrez,
915-543-5763
eduardo.gutierrez@epelectric.com
or
Investor
Relations:
Steve Busser, 915-543-5983
steve.busser@epelectric.com
or
Lisa
Budtke, 915-543-5947
lisa.budtke@epelectric.com
Source: El Paso Electric
News Provided by Acquire Media