CONSTRUCTION on new power plant to begin

<br>KIOWA, Okla. (AP) _ Construction is scheduled to begin in early July on a new Pittsburg County power plant capable of serving more than a million homes. <br><br>The 1,250-megawatt natural gas-fueled

Thursday, June 21st 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KIOWA, Okla. (AP) _ Construction is scheduled to begin in early July on a new Pittsburg County power plant capable of serving more than a million homes.

The 1,250-megawatt natural gas-fueled electric plant is being built on 100 acres south of Kiowa by Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska and Kiowa Power Partners.

It is expected to become operational in 2003.

``With the unwavering support of the community, the project is becoming a reality,'' said Darrell Bevelhymer, Tenaska's vice president of business development.

Tenaska is responsible for the final development, financing and building of the plant. The company already has roughly 6,100 megawatts of generating plants in operation or under construction.

KPP is owned by three companies: PRG Kiowa, LLC, a subsidiary of Power Resource Group, Inc. of Lewisville, Texas; Longview Generation, a private power producer in Skaneateles, N.Y.; and Donco, LLC, a Tulsa, Okla., business development firm.