MILWAUKEE, June 23,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- We Energies announced today
that the company plans to extend the operating lives of the four
older units at its Oak Creek site.
The expected retirement of Units 5 and 6 will be delayed by a year,
until May 2024. Retirement of Units 7
and 8 will be delayed for approximately 18 months, until late in
2025.
These coal-fueled units were built and placed into service in
the late 1950s and 1960s. They are equipped with modern
environmental controls and have a total capacity of 1,100
megawatts.
"The decision to postpone the retirement dates for these units
is based on two critical factors: tight energy supply
conditions in the Midwest power market and supply chain issues that
will likely delay the commercial operation of renewable energy
projects that are currently moving through the regulatory approval
process," said Scott Lauber,
president — We Energies.
The company remains committed to achieving aggressive
environmental goals, including a 60 percent reduction of CO2
emissions from its power generation fleet by the end of 2025 and an
80 percent reduction by the end of 2030. Both measures are compared
to a 2005 baseline.
"Because we plan to operate the older units at Oak Creek largely during the days of highest
customer demand, we're confident that we can remain on track to
achieve these industry-leading targets," Lauber added.
We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers
and 1.1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. We Energies is the trade name of
Wisconsin Electric Power Co. and Wisconsin Gas LLC, subsidiaries of
WEC Energy Group Inc. (NYSE: WEC). Visit We Energies at
we-energies.com and WEC Energy Group at wecenergygroup.com.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management's
current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in the statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements
include, among other things, statements concerning management's
expectations and projections regarding regional generating
capacity, retirement of generating units, renewable energy
projects, and emission reduction goals. In some cases, forward
looking statements may be identified by reference to a future
period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such
as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts,"
"guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives," "plans," "possible,"
"potential," "projects," "should," "targets," "will" or similar
terms or variations of these terms.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including
business and competitive conditions in the company's service
territories; the timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and
other regulatory decisions; availability of generating facilities
and/or distribution systems; significant differences in forecasted
generating capacity in the Midwest region and decisions by MISO
affecting plant retirements; the ability of the company to obtain
additional generating capacity at competitive prices;
unanticipated changes in fuel and purchased power costs; the
company's ability to continue to successfully integrate the
operations of its subsidiaries; key personnel changes; varying,
adverse or unusually severe weather conditions; continued industry
restructuring and consolidation; continued advances in, and
adoption of, new technologies that produce power or reduce power
consumption; energy and environmental conservation efforts; the
company's ability to successfully acquire and/or dispose of assets
and to execute on its capital plan; cyber-security threats and data
security breaches; construction risks; equity and bond market
fluctuations; changes in the company's and its subsidiaries'
ability to access the capital markets; changes in tax legislation
or the company's ability to use certain tax benefits and
carryforwards; federal, state and/or local legislative and
regulatory changes, including changes to environmental standards
and greenhouse gas regulations, the enforcement of these laws and
the regulations and changes in the interpretation by regulatory
agencies; supply chain disruptions; inflation; political and
geopolitical developments; the impact from new developments
relating to the COVID-19 pandemic or any future health pandemics;
the impact on the global economy, supply chains and fuel prices
from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine; current and future litigation and
regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries; changes in
accounting standards; the financial performance of American
Transmission Company as well as projects in which the company's
energy infrastructure business invests; and other factors described
under the heading "Factors Affecting Results, Liquidity and Capital
Resources" in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations and under the headings
"Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and
"Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2021, and in
subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Except as may be required by law, the company expressly
disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking information.
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SOURCE We Energies