Correction: This article said that Southwestern Electric Power Co. could not convert its Flint Creek coal-fired electric plant in Gentry to burn natural gas in time to meet 2016 federal emissions standards. The article omitted that the utility said it also could not build transmission lines that would be necessary to replace the plant in time to meet the 2016 standards.
Scrubbers approved for coal-fired plant
The Arkansas Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved a plan by Southwestern Electric Power Co. to install environmental scrubbers at its 528-megawatt Flint Creek coal-fired plant in Gentry that supplies electricity to Northwest Arkansas.
The decision agrees with the opinions of the commission’s general staff and the attorney general’s office, which each said in March they supported installation of the scrubbers.
Southwestern Electric and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. each own half of the plant. Southwestern operates it.
Southwestern said it will cost $408 million to put the scrubbers on the 35-yearold plant to meet environmental standards. The scrubbers will let the plant continue to burn coal.
Southwestern officials said converting the plant to burn natural gas couldn’t be finished before 2016, when federal emissions limits must be met.
Southwestern would have to close Flint Creek if the scrubbers couldn’t be installed.
- David Smith
Job fair set for 500 laid off HP workers
A job fair will be held in Conway next week for the almost 500 workers laid off by Hewlett-Packard Co’s. customer-support center, TJ Johnston, executive vice president of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and Conway Development Corp, said Wednesday.
The job fair will be held July 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University of Central Arkansas student center ballroom.
Johnston said more than 20 companies had signed up for the job fair as of Wednesday.
Hewlett-Packard announced Monday that it plans to cut about 500 jobs. Before the layoffs, Hewlett-Packard employed about 1,400 in Conway.
- Jessica Seaman
State index up 0.80 as 10 stocks advance
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 0.80 to 288.69 on Wednesday.
“U.S. stocks traded sideways on Wednesday, ending essentially unchanged, as the markets looked for direction after the release of [the Federal Open Market Committee] minutes from the June meeting,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock. “The Arkansas Index moved higher as 10 stocks advanced and six declined.”
P.A.M. Transportation Services jumped 5.6 percent with only 200 shares traded. Windstream was up 2.1 percent in heavy trading.
Dillard’s lost 1.3 percent in above-average trading.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 21 on 07/11/2013