Water authority gets OK for power plant talks

Friday, Aug. 17, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority board gave the go-ahead Thursday for talks that could lead to the authority's purchase of a planned power plant in the Apex Industrial Park.

The purchase of one-quarter of the planned power plant from Pinnacle West Energy, operating locally as GenWest, would help power the authority's water distribution system. The authority can use enough power for tens of thousands of homes and is the largest power consumer in Southern Nevada, according to the agency.

The water authority pumps water uphill through 35 miles of pipe from Lake Mead, bringing water to a half-dozen local agencies, which sell water to consumers throughout Clark County.

The water authority, like other consumers, has had to pay more for electricity to pump the water over the last year of energy shortages. Authority Deputy General Manager David Donnelly told the board that buying a piece of a generating plant would provide "a much more reliable and less costly power source" than buying electricity off the grid.

The action Thursday moves the authority forward on the purchase of a portion of the plant, but any final agreements will have to be approved by the board.

The memorandum of understanding approved by the board provides "a framework for additional negotiations," Donnelly said. The authority staff hopes to have a final agreement before the board in about four months, he said.

Donnelly said talks with Mirant and Reliant, companies also planning on building generating plants in Southern Nevada, are under way. The Mirant plant also would be in the Apex area, while the planned Reliant plant would be near Primm at the California state line.

Construction on the 570-megawatt plant should start next spring and conclude in spring 2004, Donnelly said.

Pinnacle West operates or manages plants that produce 8,000 megawatts in Arizona and New Mexico, enough for about 4 million homes.

Sheri-Lynn Foote, a company spokeswoman, said Pinnacle West has already sought construction permits to build the plant in the Apex Industrial Park.

Park investors this month said they are concerned about the potential effect of new air quality regulations Clark County government officials have said they will seek to control airborne dust pollution.

The new rules could slow or stop some new construction in the park, which is about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Valley.

"If (air pollution) regulations should change, will do whatever we have to, to comply," Foote said.