PSCW gives preliminary approval to convert VAPP to natural gas

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) today granted preliminary approval of our plans to convert the fuel source of Valley Power Plant (VAPP) to natural gas and to upgrade the natural gas infrastructure near the facility.

We announced our intent to convert the fuel source for VAPP from coal to natural gas in August 2012 and filed plans with the PSCW in April 2013. We will await the final written order before proceeding with construction, but we anticipate completion of the project by late 2015 or early 2016.

“We are pleased with the commission’s decision to approve our plan to convert the fuel source at Valley Power Plant from coal to natural gas,” said Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer of We Energies. “Along with improving the environmental profile of the plant, the conversion will provide millions of dollars in savings to our electric customers annually and will maintain a reliable and affordable source of heat and energy to more than 400 downtown steam customers.”

The plant’s electric capacity is expected to remain at 280 megawatts. The current cost estimate of conversion is approximately $70 million.

Located along the Menomonee River in Milwaukee, VAPP is a cogeneration facility that generates electricity for the grid and produces reliable steam for nearly 450 customers in downtown Milwaukee. Analysis shows that converting the fuel source for the plant will reduce operating costs and enhance the environmental performance of the units.

Natural gas conservation request for northwest Wisconsin lifted

We are lifting our natural gas conservation request for customers in northwest Wisconsin.

TransCanada continues to make repairs to its pipeline that was damaged because of an explosion early Saturday. Two other pipelines were shut down until inspections could be completed. One went into service last night. The other is expected to return to service in a day or two.

We are receiving the amount of natural gas we need for our customers via Viking Gas Transmission, which transports natural gas to our system in northwest Wisconsin. Though extreme cold tonight and tomorrow will continue to challenge the system, we expect to be able to meet demand. We appreciate the conservation measures taken by our customers since the incident occurred.

A small number of commercial and industrial customers on interruptible-service rates remain without service until further notice.

Manitoba explosion reduces natural gas supply to customers in northwest Wisconsin

An explosion in Manitoba early Saturday knocked out three natural gas pipelines that help supply our northwest Wisconsin service area. One of the pipelines is expected to return to service this afternoon.

In the meantime, we have reached out to our customers via local media to explain the situation and ask them to conserve natural gas. Natural gas flows from TransCanada are increasing to Viking Gas Transmission, which is our supplier in the region. If repair work is completed as expected and our system stabilizes, we may end our conservation request later today. Conservation measures taken by our customers have helped improve the situation, and we thank our customers for taking action.

We will update this site with new developments and post links to these updates from our Facebook and Twitter pages.

More than 140 cities, towns and villages that we serve are affected by the reduced supply. Here is the complete list: 

CITIES

AMERY

AUGUSTA

BARRON

BLACK RIVER FALLS

BLAIR

BLOOMER

CHETEK

CORNELL

CUMBERLAND

DURAND

GILLETT

GLENWOOD CITY

GREENWOOD

HAYWARD

LADYSMITH

LOYAL

NEILLSVILLE

OSSEO

RICE LAKE

SHELL LAKE

SPARTA

SPOONER

ST CROIX FALLS

STANLEY

TOMAH

TOWNS

ADAMS

ADRIAN

ALBION

ALMA

ALMENA

ANGELO

ANSON

APPLE RIVER

ARLAND

BALDWIN

BALSAM LAKE

BANGOR

BARRON

BASHAW

BASS LAKE

BEAVER

BEAVER BROOK

BLACK BROOK

BRIDGE CREEK

BROCKWAY

BURNS

BYRON

CADY

CHETEK

CLAYTON

CLEAR LAKE

CLINTON

COLFAX

CRYSTAL LAKE

CUMBERLAND

CURRAN

CYLON

DALLAS

DANIELS

DELMAR

DEWEY

DOVRE

DURAND

EATON

EAU GALLE

EDSON

ELLSWORTH

ESTELLA

EVERGREEN

FARMINGTON

FLAMBEAU

FREMONT

GARFIELD

GILMAN

GLENWOOD

GOETZ

GRANT

GRANTSBURG

GREENFIELD

GROW

HAMILTON

HAMMOND

HARTLAND

HAY RIVER

HAYWARD

HIXTON

ISABELLE

JEFFERSON

KINNICKINNIC

LA FOLLETTE

LA GRANGE

LAFAYETTE

LAKELAND

LEON

LINCOLN

LOYAL

LUCK

LUDINGTON

LYNN

MAPLE GROVE

MAPLE PLAIN

MEENON

MILLTOWN

OAK GROVE

OAKLAND

OSCEOLA

OTTER CREEK

PIGEON

PINE VALLEY

PLEASANT VALLEY

PORTLAND

PRAIRIE LAKE

PRESTON

RICE LAKE

ROCK

RUSH RIVER

RUSK

SAND LAKE

SIGEL

SIREN

SPARTA

SPOONER

SPRING LAKE

SPRINGBROOK

SPRINGFIELD

ST CROIX FALLS

STANLEY

STANTON

STAR PRAIRIE

STINNETT

STRICKLAND

STUBBS

SUMNER

SWISS

THORNAPPLE

TIFFANY

TOMAH

TREGO

TRENTON

TURTLE LAKE

UNION

WATERVILLE

WAUBEEK

WEST SWEDEN

WESTON

WILSON

WOOD RIVER

WOODMOHR

YORK

VILLAGES

ALMA CENTER

ALMENA

BALDWIN

BALSAM LAKE

BANGOR

BAY CITY

BOYCEVILLE

BOYD

BRUCE

CADOTT

CAMERON

CASHTON

CENTURIA

CLAYTON

CLEAR LAKE

COLFAX

DEER PARK

DOWNING

DRESSER

ELLSWORTH

ELMWOOD

FREDERIC

GRANTON

GRANTSBURG

HAUGEN

HIXTON

KNAPP

LUCK

MERRILLAN

MILLTOWN

NEW AUBURN

OSCEOLA

PIGEON FALLS

PLUM CITY

ROCKLAND

SIREN

SPRING VALLEY

STAR PRAIRIE

TURTLE LAKE

WEBSTER

WEST SALEM

WEYERHAEUSER

WILSON

WOODVILLE

WYEVILLE

Cookie recipes needed

The holidays may have just wrapped up, but we are already busy planning for next holiday season – and need your help. As we’ve done the past couple of years, we are including customer recipes in our popular Cookie Book. This past year, 35 lucky customers made the cut. Now we need a new batch of original recipes for our next edition. 

2013 Cookie Book (pdf)

It’s easy to submit your recipe. Simply complete the online form. Recipes must be original. Many people have wonderful stories behind their recipes, We would like to hear those, too. Please share your family’s tradition.

We have an online recipe section that provides more information about the Cookie Book and access to many past editions.

The 2014 We Energies Cookie Book will be unveiled in November. Customers will be notified in advance if their recipe is chosen.

Generating fleet meets all-time winter peak demand

Our fleet of coal, natural gas and renewable power plants was severely tested last week as demand soared during the extreme cold weather. At its peak on Jan. 7, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) called on our plants to deliver nearly 6,300 megawatts (MW) to the market. This eclipsed the previous winter peak of just more than 5,900 MW set Dec. 12, 2013. Prior to this winter, the highest winter output was approximately 5,750 MW, set in December 2009.

Pleasant Prairie Power Plant

Our power plants operate within the MISO market, which includes 15 U.S. states and one Canadian province, covering and managing one of the largest wholesale electricity markets in North America. MISO dispatches our units among hundreds of other generating units within the MISO footprint to meet electricity demand.

Despite the challenging conditions, our power plants met the demand and kept the power and steam flowing for our customers.

Natural gas consumption sets record

Our customers recently set an all-time record for natural gas consumption. For the 24-hour period ending at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 7, we delivered 1.920 million dekatherms of natural gas to customers across the region, breaking the previous record of 1.788 million dekatherms reached on Jan. 15, 2009.

The new all-time high is more than 7 percent above the previous one-day record.

The new mark was set even though a record low temperature was not reached in southeastern Wisconsin. Our natural gas delivery system handled the record demand without any significant problems.

One dekatherm equals 10 therms. A therm is a measure of heat energy. Our typical residential customer uses 900 therms in a year, about 600 of which are used during the heating season.

Be ready for extreme cold

Extreme cold coming Sunday night and continuing through Tuesday will be the coldest weather in our service area in nearly two decades. While our energy distribution systems are built to withstand extreme cold, equipment problems, wildlife damage, high winds and other reasons can cause outages at any time of the year. As always, be prepared to stay safe -- especially during severe cold.

Preparation

Add our numbers to your cell phone:

• Power outage or electrical emergency: 800-662-4797
• Gas leak, odor or emergency: 800-261-5325

Assemble an emergency kit and put it where it’s easy to find in the dark. Suggested items:

• Flashlights and extra batteries
• Blankets
• Bottled water — half gallon a day per person
• Battery-operated radio and extra batteries
• Canned or dried food and hand-operated can opener
• First-aid kit
• Prescription medications
• Specialty items for infants, seniors or disabled family members

Other considerations:

• Check on friends, neighbors and relatives, especially seniors or anyone with medical conditions
• Keep pets safe
• Keep electronic devices, especially cell phones, charged
• Find out where area emergency shelters are located should you need to leave your home

Power outages

• Report and get updates on your outage by calling 800-662-4797
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible
• Use manual operation of garage door
• Dress in layers of clothing to stay warm and go to safe shelter if your home becomes extremely cold
• Use battery-operated lights rather than candles
• Unplug or turn off appliances to avoid overloading when power is restored
• Leave a single light on to alert you when power is restored
• If you are the only home without power, check your breakers or fuses
• Close blinds or drapes and avoid opening doors to retain heat
• Use a generator to power your furnace, but use it properly
• Use a properly vented fireplace or wood-burning stove, if you have one
• Do not use outdoor grills, kerosene heaters or camping heaters

Natural gas leaks and outages
Natural gas outages are rare; however, equipment failures, digging damage, natural disasters and other causes can disrupt service at any time. Damage meters, corroded appliance connectors and other causes can cause leaks. We add a foul odor to help you detect leaks. If you smell a leak:

• Leave immediately – do not turn on light switches or use phone.
• Call us at 800-261-5325 from another location.

Additional winter weather safety resources
American Red Cross
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention