Branch unit closing marks symbolic milestone

Monday, Sept. 30, 2013 -- After 46 years in service, Plant Branch Unit 2 will retire from

service after today to comply with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD)

Multipollutant Rule.

The unit is coal-fired, and was the second of Branch’s four units to come online, in 1967.

It has a generating capacity of 319 megawatts (MW).

“The decision to retire

Branch 2 has everything to

do with our focus to

provide affordable

electricity for our

customers,” said John

Pemberton, senior vice

president and senior

production officer.

“After an extensive

analysis of the cost to

comply with environmental

regulations, it was

determined the continued

operation of the unit

would be uneconomical

for our customers,” he said.

Georgia Power requested the decertification of Branch units 1 and 2 in 2011. The request

was approved last year, although it has since been decided that Unit 1 will remain online

for now and be retired by April 16, 2015, the effective date of the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxic Standards rule. 

Georgia Power is in the midst of a transition in its generating fleet that will provide

economic benefits to customers for generations. Plans to retire Branch Units 3 and 4 in

2015 were announced as part of this year’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filing, and

several other coal- and oil-fired units throughout the Georgia generation fleet will be

retired as well.

All the retirements are due in large part to the new environmental regulations referenced

above. The rules would have required the Branch units to be equipped and operated with

selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and flue gas desulfurization (FGD), or scrubber,

technologies. 

Employee reductions due to the closings at Branch and the other units impacted by the

2013 IRP are expected to be achieved through attrition and transfers to other company

facilities. Integral to the comprehensive workforce transition process is a transparent and

extensive communication plan that involves all employees and their union representatives,

Pemberton said.

A Georgia Power Generation Transition website was recently launched on mySOurce to

provide the most current news, information and jobSOurce resources for employees.

Staff numbers at Branch have gone from approximately 280 in 2011 to 195 today, said

Plant Manager Kathy Russell. A handful have retired, but the majority of former employees

have moved on to other company facilities.

Operations at the plant have proceeded as usual since the intended retirements were

announced, and 2013’s peak season performance was strong, she said. All four units ran

well and reliably.

“Employees are understandably disappointed by the upcoming closing of the workplace

they care so much for,” Russell said. “But they fully understand the business decision
behind it.”

Plant management is stressing communication to make sure everyone is involved and part

of the process, she added. They are committed to running the business as long as they are

still in business, she said, and remaining embedded in the community through

volunteerism and environmental stewardship is a big part of that.

Branch is in Putnam County, near Milledgeville. It is located on the banks of Lake Sinclair,

near the Putnam-Baldwin county line, and named for former Georgia Power President

Harllee Branch Jr. It began operation in 1961, and, by 1969, all four units were in

operation.