Explaining where power comes from may seem simple, but it’s not. The act of turning on your lights is at the end of a long and complex journey. The intricacies of getting power to that switch involve thorough and ongoing planning. There is not a day that goes by that my team at Wabash Valley Power Alliance is not monitoring the supply, demand, and transmission of power. Our job is to navigate the complexities and get electricity to your community. Then, your co-op delivers it to homes and businesses. 

Utilizing all the power options

From the halls of Congress to town halls, power supply is a hot topic. There are many options for, and opinions about, generating power. Some fervently support renewables, like wind and solar, while others want nothing but fossil fuels, like coal and natural gas. From my vantage point, I am for everything.     

To meet the power needs of today and tomorrow, it is critical that we have a diverse portfolio. Basically, I do not want all our proverbial eggs in one basket. At last report, our portfolio shows about 67% of power supply is from fossil fuels, 11% nuclear, and 22% renewables, such as wind and solar. We get the power from generation resources — both gas and coal plants — that we own. We also have power purchase agreements, or PPAs, that allow us to lock in additional power over the long term.

Meeting the needs of today and tomorrow

Over the last five years, our reliance on coal has gone down. Part of the reason is because of government regulation, and part is because of the cost to maintain or upgrade old coal plants. I am bullish on natural gas. It is reliable, affordable, and can be dispatched to meet demand. Solar and wind resources are good, but we must accommodate times when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine. Even with those intricacies, at the end of the day, we need a diverse power mix to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. 

As you may have read in these pages a few months ago, one remarkable achievement for us this year was our purchase of the St. Joseph Energy Center, a combined cycle natural gas plant, near South Bend. This is an excellent addition to our portfolio that will reap benefits for years to come. We are constantly evaluating opportunities to develop our portfolio to ensure there is power when you flip that switch.

If you have any topics you want me to cover, email me or my team member, Vicki Gardner, at v_gardner@wvpa.com with ideas.

Jeff Conrad
President and CEO, Wabash Valley Power Alliance