Oct 26, 2006

WPS, environmental groups settle lawsuit

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPS) said it will shut down two small units at its Pulliam coal-fired power plant in downtown Green Bay, after reaching an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by the environmental groups Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club. The Green Bay-based electric and natural gas utility also will make environmental control upgrades to four other units at Pulliam under a federal court settlement filed today. The agreement required the utility to take steps toward either retiring or upgrading the six units. The utility also agreed to spend $500,000 to launch environmental projects with the aid of Madison-based Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. The projects will likely target ways to help customers improve energy efficiency, WPS said. The shutdown of the two units will affect about 25 of the 127 union employees at the coal-fired power plant, located at the mouth of the Fox River next to the bay of Green Bay. WPS hopes to handle the job losses through attrition and by finding other jobs in the company for the affected workers. Source: www.journalsentinel.com ( Thomas Content )