[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: City purchases the Columbia Energy Center

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Connie Kacprowicz, Utility Services Specialist
-or-
Tad Johnsen, Director
-or-
Ryan Williams, Assistant Director

(573) 874-7325


City purchases the Columbia Energy Center

COLUMBIA, MO (May 31, 2011) - The City of Columbiais set to take ownership of theColumbia Energy Center from Ameren Energy Marketing on the first of June. The media is being invited to tour the facility and interview representatives from the city and Ameren Energy Marketing. Due to security concerns access to the facility is generally limited.

The bond issue to purchase the Columbia Energy Center was overwhelmingly supported by voters on April 5, 2011. The city purchased 25% of the facility in 2010 and has had a lease agreement to purchase additional energy. By buying the facility now and ending the lease agreement, Columbia Water & Light is estimated to save $1 million annually. Due to the cost savings, buying the facility is not expected to raise electric rates. 

The Columbia Energy Centeris a 144 megawatt natural gas fired electric generation facility that was built in 2001. It is located on Peabody Road, near the Columbia Landfill, on the northeast side of town and is connected to the Columbia transmission system. The Columbia Energy Center will supply electricity during high electric usage periods and will help the city meet federal requirements. Purchasing the facility will add local generation to the city's electric portfolio which helps with the reliability of the system.

The bond issue for purchasing the Columbia Energy Center was for $49.5 million. The facility cost $45.2 million, $3.6 million was set aside for the reserve requirement and $678,000 was set aside for the cost of issuing the bonds. The utility will pay back the borrowed money through electric utility funds.


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