Citizens' Daily Lobby

There are currently several lawsuits pending against the Turk coal power plant proposal in Hempstead County.  One of the legal arguments in front of the court right now deals with an aspect called the Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (CECPN).  In order for a utility to build a power plant in Arkansas and sell its electricity to customers, it must obtain a CECPN from the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC).  That is what the law currently requires.  The PSC granted SWEPCO a CECPN which was then contested in the courts.  The case went all the way to the Arkansas Court of Appeals and then the Arkansas Supreme Court- both of whom ruled to invalidate the CECPN. 

SWEPCO has been losing in the courts over Turk, so they are trying to change the CECPN law that is currently one of the legal issues in an ongoing court case in U.S. District Court.  SWEPCO wants to make it so that a utility who applies for a CECPN and does not get it can then simply opt out of the CECPN requirments and claim to operate under an exemption where it will sell its power on the wholesale market.  SWEPCO’s draft bill would be an outright change of existing CECPN law.  SWEPCO figures that if it can’t win in court, it can at least attempt to change the law before the court is able to make a ruling.  This would be like if someone broke the law, and then they tried to change the law while they were on trial.  The average citizen does not have that power, and nor should SWEPCO!

Thanks to Lev and the Sierra Club for getting this warning out to citizens early in the process.  We’ll keep you posted when it’s time to lobby!!