DUPAGE, WEST CHICAGO MAY JOIN TO STUDY PEAKER-PLANT REGULATIONS
By John Chase
DuPage County and West Chicago would split evenly the costs of a
study that would investigate what sorts of laws governments can pass
to regulate so-called peaker power plants, under a proposal approved
Monday by a county panel.
The two government bodies would share the information from the study,
which is expected to cost between $5,000 and $10,000. Versar Inc.,
whose Midwest headquarters is in Lombard, has been chosen to conduct
the study.
The county's Development Committee approved the action on Monday,
but the issue must still be approved by the full County Board, which
is scheduled to discuss the item on Tuesday.
Under the proposal, Versar would review the peaker plant industry and
related industries, review current ordinances regulating peaker
plants, and make recommendations to improve existing requirements or
add new requirements.
"We need an evaluation as to what regulations are needed regarding
these facilities," said Tony Charlton, head of the county's
Development Department. "We're trying to address the issue now."
Though no companies have proposed building a peaker plant on
unincorporated land in DuPage, county leaders said they want to pass
regulations before any pitch is made.
Companies already have proposed building peaker plants in Aurora and
West Chicago, near the DuPage Airport. The plans have raised concerns
among neighbors who fear the plant's emissions, noise, water usage,
vibrations and odors may affect the neighborhoods.
With deregulation on the horizon, however, power wholesalers have
moved the plans forward, helping to make the facilities the most
controversial issue in the electric power industry.
Run mainly by natural gas-fired turbines, peaker plants are a version
of so-called merchant-generating facilities that power wholesalers
build to supplement their electric supply.
Peaker facilities are designed to generate electricity during periods
of intense demand such as hot summer days, while smaller facilities,
called baseload plants, operate year-round.
The electricity is sold to Commonwealth Edison Co., or other
utilities, which then distribute the power to homes and businesses.
Paul Hoss, DuPage County's principal planner, said it is possible the
plants will be considered a public utility under the law, a
development that would hold the facilities to a strict standard.
"That's what we need to find out--how can we regulate them," Hoss
said. "That's what the study will hopefully determine."
