Not the end of Lowman Since the late 1960s, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative’s Lowman Power Plant in Leroy has been an integral part of the local community and economy. During this time, the coal-fired power plant has not only provided a reliable energy supply, it has also supported Washington County by providing jobs and tax dollars. PowerSouth has announced that the existing units at the Lowman Power Plant will close in late 2020, marking the end of a four-decade era of power supply for our area. PowerSouth is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides power to Clarke-Washington EMC, as well as 15 other electric distribution cooperatives and four municipal electric systems in Alabama and northwest Florida. As a cooperative, PowerSouth is owned and governed by its members, and its primary mission is to generate and deliver power to its members – safely and reliably and affordably. The difficult decision to retire the Lowman units came after PowerSouth’s Board of Trustees determined the plant’s coal-fired units could no longer operate under current environmental regulations.
But this isn’t the end of Lowman Power Plant’s story.
Like Clarke-Washington EMC, PowerSouth is rooted in its commitment to the communities it serves and understands the
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Lowman Power Plant’s impact on our members and neighbors. To replace the energy generated by the plant’s coal-fired units, PowerSouth will construct a new natural gas-fired plant on the existing Lowman site. As a natural gas facility, the new plant will be designed to incorporate advanced generating technology to produce electricity in the most efficient and environmentally friendly manner possible. Construction on the new plant is scheduled to begin in late 2021, which will benefit the local economy by employing more than 350 contractors during the construction process. Because of the differences between generating electricity using coal and natural gas, the new natural gas plant will require significantly fewer employees than currently employed at the Lowman Plant. PowerSouth is deeply concerned about all their employees who will lose their jobs due to the closure, their families and their futures, and will make every effort to assist them during the transition. Despite these changes, PowerSouth will continue to support our communities though competitive salaries, property tax dollars and charitable giving. Clarke-Washington EMC and PowerSouth will work together to improve quality of life through the provision of safe, reliable, affordable electricity.
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