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Utilities outline plan to restore fuel‑oil capability at NDS units and study other generation upgrades
Summary
Hastings Utilities staff described efforts to return NDS Units 4 and 5 to dual‑fuel capability (natural gas and fuel oil), said Don Henry recontrol work is planned and that an engineering study is pending for WEC 2 fuel conversion options to reduce emissions.
Hastings Utilities staff told the Utility Board on March 13 they are pursuing steps to restore fuel‑oil capability at NDS generating units 4 and 5 and are preparing other upgrades to maintain reliability and capacity in the SPP market.
“After the commissioning of WEC 1 in 1981, those units were primarily ran when WEC 1 was in an outage situation,” said Micah (generation staff), explaining NDS history and why dual‑fuel capability matters. Micah said NDS Units 4 and 5 were designed to operate on natural gas or fuel oil but have not run on fuel oil since February 2001.
Staff described multiple reasons for restoring fuel‑oil capability: improving reliability during extreme winter events when natural gas supplies can be constrained, reducing the risk that a unit’s claimed capacity is reduced under SPP capacity rules, and allowing the utility to purchase and store fuel oil when prices are low. Micah explained SPP capacity calculations (EFORD and the top‑3% winter availability metric), saying early calculations indicate a potential loss of roughly 4 megawatts of claimable capacity for NDS 5 if fuel supply interruptions occur in critical winter hours.
Planned work at NDS includes tank inspection and minor updates to a 5,000‑gallon tank, restoring steam‑induced soot‑blowing equipment (SIP blowers), testing and returning fuel lines and pumps to service, addressing access and platform safety for staff, and tuning the distributed control system (DCS) for dual‑fuel operation. Micah said much of the original equipment was retained, which reduces capital needs compared with building a new system.
Staff also described a planned recontrol project for the Don Henry plant to update outdated control systems and explore making Don Henry dual‑fuel capable; that recontrol work is currently scheduled for completion in 2027. For WEC 2 (a coal‑fired unit described by staff), Hastings Utilities said PPGA is exploring options that could range from co‑firing natural gas to full fuel conversion to help meet EPA/Clean Air Act requirements; an engineering study will be solicited.
Board members discussed the value of capacity as a commodity in the SPP market and the advantages for local economic development if the city maintains available capacity for new industry. Staff repeatedly emphasized long‑term planning and the need to balance ratepayer investment against asset life and reliability.
No formal vote on fuel projects was recorded at the March 13 meeting; staff said further engineering and safety work, inspections and tuning remain before dual‑fuel operations could be certified.
