Mothballed Choctaw Power Station Ready to Fly Again

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Mothballed slightly less than three years ago and less than a year after its commissioning, Choctaw Power Station is ready for a comeback. Once citing weak wholesale market conditions in the Southeast, Reliant Energy Incorporated (NYSE:RRI) (Houston, Texas) has decided that the market can sustain this efficient, natural gas-fired, combined-cycle generating station once again. Plant officials are hoping to be back online with the 822-megawatt plant before June 1, as preliminary performance testing has already begun.

Before deciding to mothball Choctaw, Reliant offered the output of the plant to the market through a request-for-proposal process; however, there were insufficient responses, and the cost of operating the plant exceeded all proposals received. Shortly thereafter the plant closed its doors, and many were left wondering the fate of the newly constructed energy facility. Now, Reliant officials admit the town is buzzing with anticipation of the plant’s return.

Located 87 miles northeast of Jackson, Mississippi, Choctaw Power Station resides just outside the small town of French Camp, Choctaw County, Mississippi. With a population of less than 400 (circa 2005), the economic impact in French Camp will undoubtedly be a positive one, and town growth should follow closely behind. Moreover, with 822 megawatts of generating capacity on-hand, this tiny town is now a major player in the area’s energy distribution network, and the plant should be in direct competition with SUEZ Energy International’s (Houston, Texas) 730-megawatt, $400 million Choctaw Gas Generation Project (see related June 12, 2006 news article- SUEZ Energy Set To Begin Commercial Start-Up for $400 Million Power Project in Mississippi), also located in Choctaw County.

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