Coal news and updates

Southwestern Electric Power coal burn rises in July: filing

Southwestern Electric Power Company generated 1.03 million MWh of power from Powder River Basin coal in July, up from 970,500 MWh in June and 757,166 MWh in the year-ago month, a state regulatory filing showed Sept. 16.

Coal's generation mix for the Columbus, Ohio-based utility's three coal plants in Arkansas and Texas ticked lower to 41.8% in July, down from 42.1% in June, but up from 31% in July 2020, according to the filing published by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

SWEPCO burned $23.17 million worth of Powder River Basin coal in July, compared with $21.04 million in June and $16.87 million in the year-ago month.

However, on a cost-per-MWh basis, dispatch price for coal rose to $22.50/MWh in July, up from $21.68/MWh in the previous month and $22.28/MWh in July 2020.

At the three coal-fired plants, coal's capacity factor was at 78.6% in July, compared with 76.6% in June and 57.8% in the year-ago month.

SWEPCO generated 472,456 MWh of power from natural gas in July, which made up 19.2% of the mix, compared with 405,841 MWh, or 17.6%, in June, and 569,482 MWh, or 23.3%, in July 2020.

Lignite made up 12.1% of the stack in July, up from 9.7% in June and also 9.7% in July 2020, while purchased power made up the remaining 26.9%, compared with 30.6% in June and 36% in the year-ago month.