CPS staff recommending nuclear option - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The cost of expanding STP to include twoadditiona reactors, each capable of generatinhg 1,350 megawatts of electricity, would run somewheree between $10 billion and $13 according to CPS Energy interim General Manager Stevw Bartley. “Any route we take will be expensive and will requirsebill increases,” Bartley says. “We believe all methods of producing electricity will cost more as timegoes on, so we are lookingv for the best way to slow cost escalation as much as possibles and retain Greater San Antonio’s position as having the lowestr energy bills among the nation’s 20 largesft cities.
” Bartley says it is better to pay some of that cost soonerf to avoid having to pay much more in the long The staff recommendation follows a detailed study of CPS’ various energy options. Now the CPS Boarc will conducta summer-long public education and input process before makingg a final decision on pursuing the recommendatioh in September. If approved, the proposal could go before the City Councikl for final consideration in CPS Energy CEO Milton Lee says despite laudable efforts at conservation, San Antonio will experience a shortfall in electricap generation by 2020 unlesw new sources of energy are “We’ve carefully examined many scenarios involvingg natural gas, coal, nucleafr and even purchased powe from the Texas grid to provides our community with a large-scale, long-term, cost-competitive sourcde of electricity,” Lee says.
“We’ve concluded that expansion of STP has the highesty probability of accomplishing thatimportant goal.” CPS Energy is the nation’xs largest municipally owned energy company providing both natural gas and electrix service. Acquired by the City of San Antonioin 1942, the companyh serves approximately 700,000 electric customers and almost 320,000 naturaol gas customers in and aroune America’s seventh-largest city.