Southwestern Electric Power Company 2021 Integrated Resource Plan Engagement
Synapse supported the Sierra Club in Arkansas in its engagement in Southwestern Electric Power Company’s 2021 Integrated Resource Plan process. Synapse participated in the stakeholder engagement process and helped the Sierra Club in drafting sections of the Stakeholder Committee Report. We also supported Sierra Club throughout the IRP process as it sought to refine SWEPCO’s modeling assumptions, particularly around its existing coal fleet, and improve the Company’s overall resource planning process.
We found that SWEPCO did not properly evaluate the option of retiring Flint Creek and replacing it with alternatives. Instead, the company assumed the plant would stay online beyond 2028, and locked in the capital costs needed to comply with the coal combustion residuals regulations and effluent limitation guidelines. The Stakeholder Committee Report was filed in November, 2021.