ATLANTA, Aug. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power's Plant Scherer today celebrated its distinction as 2017 Plant of the Year by the Powder River Basin (PRB) Coal Users' Group.  Employees, members of the local community and industry partners gathered at Scherer today to mark the award.  The PRB Coal Users' Group is a nonprofit organization that was formed in 2000 to promote the safe, efficient, and economic use of PRB coal by generating companies that currently use, or are considering the use of, PRB coals.

Scherer was selected as Plant of the Year based on a series of rigorous selection criteria including safety, fire protection and risk reduction benchmarks.  Judges also evaluated capital improvement projects, operational best practices such as maintenance planning and execution leveraged by plant management, as well as Scherer's environmental performance, coal handling, and boiler and combustion capabilities. 

"I'm very proud of my team. They did an excellent job working together to make improvements that ensure we are operating efficiently to provide customers with reliable and affordable energy. They strive for excellence, and they achieve it," said Johnny Howze III, Plant Scherer manager. "We are pleased that our employees' hard work on these projects and the positive impact on the communities we serve is being recognized."

The recognition was announced and featured on the front cover of the July issue of Power magazine. Click here to read the feature. 

About Plant Scherer
Plant Scherer is located on more than 3,500 acres next to Lake Juliette in Monroe County, Georgia, between Atlanta and Macon. The four units of the coal-fired power plant are capable of producing 3,600 megawatts of electricity and, on average, can supply enough energy to power approximately 1.5 million homes.  The plant employs nearly 400 people from the surrounding community and contributed more than $6.7 million in local taxes in 2016. Scherer is one of the nation's largest power plants and, in recent years, has added multiple environmental controls, including scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction systems, and baghouses which equip the units with the latest environmental controls to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury.

In addition to Georgia Power, other co-owners include Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Florida Power & Light, MEAG Power, Gulf Power, Jacksonville Electric Authority and Dalton Utilities.

About Georgia Power 
Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

SOURCE Georgia Power