Company History
Fuel - Diversity and Supply
Gerald Andrus retired in 1974 and Floyd Lewis became the third president of
MSU. His major task was to deal with the effects of higher fuel prices and
uncertain availability. Consumers were quick to respond and conservation
became the order of the day.
The effects of conservation began taking their toll on electricity demand.
While the system was building new plants based on previous forecasts, the
demand for additional capacity did not materialize. The system canceled plans
for additional units and began marketing efficiency to help customers with
rising bills. Some plants could not be canceled and the public’s reaction to
paying for these additional units embroiled the system in controversy.
In 1980, the system’s first coal fired unit came online. The White Bluff steam
electric station, located near Pine Bluff, Ark., made Arkansas Power and Light
the first system company to use all five major electricity-generation fuel
types: oil, gas, coal, nuclear and hydroelectric.
Five years later, Grand Gulf One entered commercial operation, as did LP&L’s
Waterford 3 nuclear plant. While the customers of LP&L were responsible for
paying for Waterford 3, precisely who would pay for Grand Gulf One and the
two-thirds complete Grand Gulf Two was still in question. The system was in
the middle of troubled times..
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