The head of Vectren doesn’t expect any changes in the company’s energy generating plans, even as a Texas company moves to buy the Evansville-based utility.
Vectren president and CEO Carl Chapman told reporters that CenterPoint Energy doesn’t own any energy generating facilities, in accordance with Texas law.
And Chapman said Center Point knows Vectren’s long-term energy plans…
"We would not expect any changes. Obviously, they're well aware of what our plans are. And when I mention again our robust growth plans, they obviously understand those. But keep in mind, when we do all of our planning on our generating, the driver is the cost to the customer."
Vectren’s plans include a $900 million natural gas plant in Posey County and a $70-to-$75 million solar plant at a yet-to-be announced site.
Vectren said it plans to retire three of its coal-fired plants and exit joint ownership of a Warrick County facility with Alcoa by 2023, when the natural gas plant comes online.
Chapman said if the projects are approved by state regulators, the company's carbon emissions will decrease by 60 percent.
Environmentalists argue that the proposed “fracked gas plant” is larger than the coal-burning power plants it would replace.
Sierra Club Spokeswoman Wendy Bredhold said a plant that size would crowd out the need for any meaningful investments in renewable energy for decades to come.
