Slurry lines see cheaper power; rails dispute claim

Journal Article · Mon May 16 04:00:00 EDT 1977 · Energy User News; (United States)

OSTI ID:7218965

Crawford, E; Schroeder, C

Railroad spokesmen dispute the claim of pipeline companies and utilities that lower electricity rates are possible in the future now that they have been granted eminent domain in Texas and Oklahoma for slurry pipelines. The railroads claim that pipelines are not cheaper transportation if you compare the cost of new pipeline with those of a rehabilitated existing rail line. As common carriers, the railroads operate on unit-train rates, while new pipelines require 30-year coal delivery contracts. Pipelines would also divert from the trains the more profitable kinds of coal and this would raise rates for the coal customers not served by a pipeline. Estimates of savings from Texas utilities range from $2 to $14 billion. Water, a major pipeline hurdle, has led to exploratory drilling in Colorado. Locating markets may be an even larger problem until utility executives are persuaded to shift to slurry transport. Oklahoma utilities expect to begin to benefit from the new law in the 1980s, when construction plans can take advantage of new pipelines. (DCK)

• OSTI ID: 7218965
• Journal Information: Energy User News; (United States), Journal Name: Energy User News; (United States) Vol. 2:19; ISSN EUSND
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
013000 -- Coal
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& Peat-- Transport
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20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
200106 -- Fossil-Fueled Power Plants-- Economics
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
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294001* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
296000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Electric Power
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHARGES
COAL
COMPETITION
COST
ECONOMICS
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FREIGHT PIPELINES
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LAND USE
LEGAL ASPECTS
LEGISLATION
MARKET
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PIPELINES
PLANNING
POWER
PUBLIC RELATIONS
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RAILWAYS
SLURRY PIPELINES
TRANSPORT
WATER