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November 28, 2007 | Kevin Murphy named plant manager at Thomas Hill Energy CenterContact : Nancy Southworth Kevin L. Murphy, who has worked 26 years at Thomas Hill Energy Center, has been named plant manager of the coal-based power plant near Clifton Hill. Murphy’s promotion from assistant plant manager follows the promotion of Tom Watkins, former Thomas Hill plant manager, to Springfield where he will be manager of plant operations for Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), which owns Thomas Hill Energy Center. Murphy, who grew up in the Macon area, joined Thomas Hill in 1981 as a plant mechanical engineer after graduating from the University of Missouri-Rolla with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. In 1999, he completed a master’s of business administration degree from William Woods University, Fulton. He spent 18 years in Thomas Hills’ engineering department before moving into management as an assistant operations superintendent. In February 2005, he began working closely with Watkins. Most recently, he served as assistant plant manager for four months at AECI’s New Madrid Power Plant in southeast Missouri. All this experience and his exposure to so many different aspects of plant operations will help him in his new role, Murphy said. “I’m really proud to work here and get my chance, as plant manager, to continue Associated’s tradition of providing good jobs and a great place to work. When I was a college graduate, I wasn’t particularly interested in the power industry. It’s been one of the best surprises of my life,” he said. Thomas Hill Energy Center is one of AECI’s most valuable resources for providing affordable energy to its owners – the rural electric cooperatives of Missouri. That coal-based energy is increasingly clean, and one of Murphy’s challenges will be implementing new pollution control equipment now under construction at the power plant, as well as maintaining the plant’s excellent safety record and improving the plant’s overall performance. Construction on the $330 million environmental controls project started last spring, bringing as many as 900 contractors to the area, saturating campgrounds, motels and restaurants in Randolph, Macon and Sheraton counties. “It’s given the area a real boost,” Murphy said. “It will be a good two-year run for businesses.” “Because of the decline in craft people, we’re drawing workers from all over the country,” Murphy added. They include boilermakers, pipefitters, ironworkers and electricians. Once complete by Jan. 1, 2009, the new environmental controls will enable AECI to achieve a systemwide reduction in its nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions rate of nearly 90 percent and fulfill new federal clean air standards. These improvements in air quality add to the emissions reductions AECI has achieved in the past 13 years by converting its coal units to low-sulfur coal, closing its high-sulfur Missouri coal mine and installing environmental controls at a cost of more than $650 million. Murphy was at the plant when many of these improvements occurred, and as plant manager, he will have the opportunity to help explain to local cooperative members how power is made. “People don’t realize from the switch to this power plant what’s in between,” he said. He looks forward to making that connection with local cooperative officers and members, many of whom he grew up with. Murphy and his wife, Diana, live on a small farm outside of Macon. They are the parents of five adult children and have one granddaughter. Murphy is a member of the Macon Chamber of Commerce and First Christian Church of Macon. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, southeast Iowa and northeast Oklahoma that serve more than 850,000 customers. AECI’s mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V
Released: 28 November 2007 |
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