Escanaba looking for more juice

Faced with an aging, inefficient and relatively small 25-megawatt plant powering the city, Escanaba officials are considering building a new plant in cooperation with Wisconsin Public Power Inc., which provides energy to numerous other cities in the U.P. The city's existing plant is almost 50 years old.

The city has authorized payment for a joint study on the feasibility of building a new power plant. If built, the plant would likely have WPPI (and possibly others) as a partner because a new facility would produce more energy than the city needs. WPPI has stated that it is looking to increase its power generation assets in the region.

—Ronald A. Wirtz