Hughes hopes to halt closure of Hallsville plant
An East Texas lawmaker testified two weeks ago Thursday at the Public Utility Commission of Texas in an effort to halt the closure of Pirkey Power Plant. The power plant is slated to shut down for good sometime within the next couple of months, according to reports.
Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) said closing the Harrison County plant in Hallsville, Texas would be a big mistake.
Hughes, who represents 15 counties in district one– including Cass– said he testified before PUC-T in hopes of keeping the Henry W. Pirkey Power Plant running.
“Today I testified before the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to urge them to keep the Pirkey Power Plant open,” Hughes said on February 16. “This plant provides reliable and affordable electricity, as well as good jobs.”
“Closing it would be a terrible mistake,” he added.
AEP SWEPCO (American Electric Power/Southwestern Electric Power Company), announced in 2020 that the Pirkey Power Plant was slated for shutdown in 2023. Earlier reports cited revised environmental regulations as the cause for retiring the plant.
SWEPCO’s Website, aep. com/environment/ccr/Pirkey, under the ‘Environmental and Social Justice’ tab– states that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a 2015 rule addressing the handling, storage and disposal of coal combustion residuals, most often referred to as CCRs. CCRs are defined as the materials left behind after coal has been burned.
Pirkey Plant ash storage sites included in the CCR monitoring program include four areas according to the SWEPCO website; the east bottom ash pond, west bottom ash pond, the landfill, and the stack-out area.
Journal-Sun staff have made a media inquiry with AEP SWEPCO to find out about the power plant’s looming closure and the corporation’s take on the transition.
Hughes contends that the closure of Pirkey Power Plant would mean a less reliable power grid for Texas and the loss of several good jobs for East Texans.
Bowie Cass issued a statement of encouragement for Pirkey and Brian Hughes’ support. saying, “We want to thank Senator Bryan Hughes for working in the best interest of Texas consumers. Senator Hughes, along with several other members of the Texas Legislature, is working hard to keep reliable and dispatchable generation available right here in East Texas.”
Hughes told Journal-Sun staff in a statement last week that climate change activists had pressured an out-of-state company to close the plant and he testified before PUC to shine a light on the issue.
“Shutting down the Pirkey Power Plant will cost us reliable power when we need it most,” Hughes said. “The decision to cut short the life of the plant was made by an out-of-state company under pressure from climate activists. We cannot stand idly by while jobs are lost and Texans lose an important source of dependable power.”
According to Hughes, the Hallsville plant has decades of useful life remaining.
“I have urged the commissioners to intervene to keep the plant operating and keep its energy flowing into our grid,” Hughes said.
AJ Goff, President and CEO of the East Texas Electric Cooperative commended the lawmaker’s efforts to keep the plant open.
“Early retirement of the Pirkey Power Plant will eliminate approximately 300 jobs in East Texas and threaten a reliable source of dispatchable energy for the region,” Goff said in a statement to Journal-Sun staff. “We applaud Senator Hughes for testifying before the PUC and support his efforts to keep Pirkey open.”
Hughes, originally from Mineola, was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002 and served from 2003-2017 as representative for district five, which then included Upshur, Camp, Harrison, and Wood counties. He was first elected to the Texas senate in 2016. Hughes currently serves as senator of District one, which includes the counties of Bowie, Camp, Cass, Franklin, Gregg Harrison, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Panola, Red River, Rusk, Titus, Upshur, Wood and Smith.