MONTGOMERY — Alabama Power expects to begin drawing less electricity from its coal plants between now and 2017, but coal is likely to remain one of the utility's base sources of power in the future, according to a brief summary of the 20-year plan the utility drafted in 2013.
"The Company will have some existing coal capacity derated for environmental measures through 2017, but those derates should not trigger any near-term resource additions," the plan states.
Every three years Alabama Power, the state's largest utility, draws up a 20-year plan to meet the state's electrical needs. It submits that plan, called the Integrated Resource Plan or IRP, to the Public Service Commission, but only a short summary of the plan is made available to the public.
Environmental activists and the League of Women Voters have asked that a more detailed version of the plan be made public. Some have also called for hearings where the public can have input into the drafting of the plan, something that is done in many other states.
