Trucks begin hauling coal from Antelope Valley Station to Leland Olds Station in December

Coal is again being trucked from Antelope Valley Station to Leland Olds Station to supplement the low stockpile the plant is currently experiencing.  

Trucking began Dec. 27 and there will be approximately 30 trucks hauling coal per day. Leland Olds Station Plant Manager Jason Cowan said Basin Electric is requiring the contents of the trucks to be covered to help secure the coal in the trailers and asking drivers to refrain from using their jake brakes in town to help control noise. “We want to limit the inconvenience for members of our communities as much as possible,” he said.

The decision to truck coal was made due to a dwindling stockpile of lignite at Leland Olds Station. The pile is down due to a combination of factors including an increase in the plant’s run hours and railroad delays. Cowan said the plant has run a lot harder this year due to weather and market conditions. The plant is also supposed to receive on average 1.7 trains of coal per day, but the plant didn’t receive near that in December and fell short in November, as well. As of late December, the coal pile at Leland Olds Station was 220,000 tons – the target stockpile is 500,000 tons, which would be enough to generate about 40 days of electricity.

“We want to make sure we have enough coal on site to run if conditions limit the delivery of coal to the plant, such as during the blizzard conditions we experienced in mid-December,” Cowan said. “Keeping the lights on and maintaining reliability for our members is our top priority.”

Coal was trucked from Antelope Valley Station to Leland Olds Station from August to October for similar reasons. Trucks will likely continue transporting coal to Leland Olds Station until the plant achieves a suitable stockpile level.