AES delays appearance before state commission

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The final chapter has yet to be written on a local

powerhouse’s plan to restart a pair of defunct generators by this summer.

The AES Corp. generating plant, at 21730 Newland St., requested a

one-week delay of the project’s appearance before the California Energy

Commission on Tuesday, setting Wednesday as the date to discuss permits

for the operation. The matter was due to appear before the commission

April 18, and has been continued twice since then.

Garret Shean, the commission’s hearing officer on the project, said

AES officials asked for the additional time in order to conclude

negotiations with the state’s Water Resources Department to assure that

additional energy produced by the retooling project will be used within

the state.

“I think it’s actually fairly positive that they’ve been working on an

agreement,” said Bill Workman, the city’s assistant administrator. “This

is good news.”

Keeping the energy generated at the mothballed units within the state

has been a condition the city has sought since the beginning, he added.

AES has been working to restart generating units No. 3 and No. 4,

which were shut down in 1995 by previous plant owner, Southern California

Edison Co. The project would nearly double the capacity of the plant,

adding another 450 megawatts -- enough energy to power 450,000 homes --

to its output.

Plant officials hope to have the units on line by sometime this summer

when energy is expected to be a much-needed commodity.

Ed Blackford, site manager and president of AES Huntington Beach LLC,

said the extra time is necessary in order to secure an agreement with the

water resources department before the energy commission issues any

permits.

“Keeping the energy output within California has been a very important

to the California Energy Commission, and its status was even elevated

higher in the conditions in the latest proposal,” Blackford said, adding

that he believed having a deal in place before going to the commission

was best. “We think we’re very close to reaching an agreement, which is

why we asked for the extension.”

AES officials said they are ready to begin construction on units No. 3

and No. 4 as soon as an agreement is reached with the water resources

department, and the permits are issued from the energy commission.

FYI: The California Energy Commission is scheduled to review the AES

Huntington Beach project at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Sacramento. The city

encourages the public to attend a local forum and teleconference, at a

location to be determined, during the meeting. Those interested should

contact Cindy McMullen at City Hall. She can be reached via e-mail at o7

[email protected] . Further information on the project can also

be found at energy commission’s Web site at o7

https://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/huntingtonbeach/f7 or through

Roberta Mendoca, the commission’s public advisor, at (800) 822-6228 and

(916) 654-4489.