Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), a subsidiary of American Electric Power, has filed a petition for rehearing at the Arkansas Supreme Court. The utility company wants to challenge the court’s May 13 ruling, which found that the coal-fired Turk power plant under construction in Hempstead County had not been properly approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. You can read SWEPCO’s press release here.
SWEPCO says they will continue construction on the $1.7 billion plant despite unanimous rulings against the plant’s permit by both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. Lev Guter, a field organizer with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, says the move was expected.
“We expected SWEPCO to petition for a rehearing but we are confident that the Arkansas Supreme Court will deny the request. There have already been 2 unanimous court rulings to invalidate Turk’s certificate of need and we fully anticipate that the court will determine that this case has been fully resolved. The high court’s unanimous ruling was written carefully and clearly the first time.”
Lots of filings today. SWEPCO for a stay in hopes of getting a U.S.Supreme Court review. SWEPCO’s main filing. The PSC’s filing.