Bruce A. Williamson

Bruce A. Williamson has been president and chief executive officer of Dynegy since 2002.

Before joining Dynegy, Williamson served as president and chief executive officer of Duke Energy Global Markets. He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Energy International in 1997.

Williamson was vice president of finance for PanEnergy until the company merged with Duke in 1997. Previously he worked for Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

Williamson earned his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Montana and his MBA from the University of Houston.

Affiliations
Williamson has the following affiliations:
 * Dean's Advisory Board, C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston
 * Chancellor's National Advisory Council, University of Houston
 * Board member, Questar Corp.

Dynegy to reconsider building new coal plants
In December 2008, Williamson announced that the company was reevaluating its role in developing new power plants. Williamson cited the tightening credit markets and difficulty in permitted new coal plants as reasons for reconsidering its involvement in siting, permitting, financing and constructing at least six new projects. As an alternative, the company will look at adding generation to its existing sites in the Northeast, Midwest and Western U.S.

The projects to be reassessed include:
 * Longleaf plant - Georgia
 * LS Power Elk Run Energy Station - Iowa
 * Midland Power Plant - Michigan
 * Plum Point Energy Station - Arkansas
 * Sandy Creek Plant - Texas
 * West Deptford Project - New Jersey
 * White Pine Energy Station - Nevada

Dynegy dissolves joint venture with LS Power
On January 2, 2009, Williamson announced that Dynegy was dissolving its development venture with LS Power, in part because of the credit crisis. Under the agreement, LS Power will acquire the rights to coal plant projects under consideration in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Nevada. Dynegy will also pay LS Power about $19 million. Without Dynegy's support, LS Power will likely face a more difficult time raising funds and securing long-term purchase agreements to enable the new plants to move forward.

The stock market responded positively to the announcement, sending Dynegy's stock up 19% on January 2. and another 10 percent in the following week.

In detailing the reasons behind the dissolution, Williamson said:

"“The development landscape has changed significantly since we agreed to enter into the development joint venture with LS Power in the fall of 2006,” said Bruce A. Williamson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dynegy Inc. “Today, the development of new generation is increasingly marked by barriers to entry including external credit and regulatory factors that make development much more uncertain. In light of these market circumstances, Dynegy has elected to focus development activities and investments around our own portfolio where we control the option to develop and can manage the costs being incurred more closely.”"

On January 6, 2009, LS Power announced it was cancelling plans to build the proposed Elk Run Energy Station in Waterloo, Iowa.

Williamson wins worst "Scrooge" of 2008 award
In December 2008, Co-Op America announced its list of the worst corporate "Scrooges" of 2008, awarded to "the CEOs who exhibited the worst kinds of unbridled greed and a lack of compassion or concern for others over the last year." Bruce Williamson was on the list for "Fossil Foolishness," because in spite of his recent statement very little new power plant development can be justified economically, Dynegy is forging ahead with plans to build six new coal-fired power plants. Williamson was also a runner-up for 2008's Fossil Fool of the Year Award for plans to construct more new power plants than any other energy company.

Power portfolio
Out of its total 23,402 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity in 2005 (2.19% of the U.S. total), Dynegy produces 75.9% from natural gas, 16.0% from coal, and 8.0% from oil. Dynegy owns power plants in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Existing coal-fired power plants
Dynegy had 12 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 3,755 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Dynegy's coal power plants:

In 2006, Dynegy's 6 coal-fired power plants emitted 23.9 million tons of CO2 and 96,000 tons of SO2 (0.6% of all U.S. SO2 emissions).

Coal Projects Sponsored by Dynegy / LS Power
On hold or cancelled
 * Longleaf (Georgia)
 * Midland Power Plant (Michigan)
 * Plum Point Energy Station (Arkansas)
 * Sandy Creek Plant (Texas)
 * White Pine Energy Station (Nevada)
 * Baldwin Energy Complex (Illinois)
 * LS Power Elk Run Energy Station (Iowa)
 * LS Power Sequoyah Plant (Oklahoma)
 * LS Power Sussex proposal (Virginia)
 * Marion City Project (South Carolina)
 * West Deptford Project (New Jersey)

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Key private sector decision makers on coal
 * Arkansas and coal
 * Georgia and coal
 * Illinois and coal
 * Iowa and coal
 * Michigan and coal
 * New Jersey and coal
 * Oklahoma and coal
 * South Carolina and coal
 * Texas and coal
 * Virginia and coal
 * Dynegy / LS Power