Exelon Defers Construction of $700 Million Gas-Fired Plant in Pa.

Exelon has halted construction of a 650-MW natural gas–fired power plant it planned to build to meet electricity needs in southern Pennsylvania because demand has tapered off on the back of a slow economy.

Company officials were expected to present plans for the plant’s overall concept at the Fulton township’s supervisor’s meeting Thursday night, but they have instead put a hold on the project, reported the Intelligencer Journal.

The Lancaster New Era in December 2008 had reported that Exelon was looking to build the plant near the Rock Springs Generation Facility in Cecil County, Md., a 680-MW peaking power plant.

But Exelon spokesman Timothy Wirth on Tuesday told POWERnews that the company had not determined the location for the planned plant, though it had been designated to provide electricity for the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) East region. As a result of the slowing economy, the company had decided it was premature to submit applications for permits or zoning approval for the plant, he said.

“Projections show that demand for electricity in that region are dropping,” Wirth said. “We will continue to monitor demand and proceed with the plant accordingly.”

Sources: Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era, Exelon, POWERnews