The nearly $700 million expansion of the Progress Energy plant in Richmond County is expected to bring efficiency, community support and more taxes to the area.

“Progress Energy prospers when the community prospers,” said Drew Elliot, a spokesman for the utility.

The Hamlet plant will operate on natural gas and fuel oil to generate electricity.

“We are focusing on maintaining stable energy cost for our customers because it’s important to us and them,” said Andy Honeycutt, local community relations manager. “We think it’s critical to manage this.”

He went on to say that with hot temperatures electricity demands go up.

“And with plants, like the one in Richmond County, we can handle that demand,” he said.

Outages can be a problem and with the new plant they are working to ease that.

“We want to make sure that we continue to have reliable electricity to our customers in these times,” Honeycutt said.

Even though the number of jobs may not be a lot, less than a dozen, the plant is putting people to work inside and out.

“This reinforces our partnership with Richmond County,” Honeycutt said.

The company believes that having generators in the region that it serves is a good management of resources.

“We put plants where energy is used and it improves the quality,” Honeycutt said. “It comes down to energy efficiency, alternative energy and state-of-the art power plants.”

The additions will make the Richmond County plant the second largest site for the utility.

“We will be, by far, the highest taxpayer in Richmond County by nearly doubling the taxes that have previously have been paying, ” Elliot said.

Elliot went on to say that they are also wholesale electricity providers.

“Even though you may not be a Progress Energy customer, you may still be receiving electricity that was actually generated at one of our plants,” he said.

The company also has an operations center, distribution assets and two hydro electric plants that are in Mt. Gilead and Lilesville.

“This plant allows us to provide the necessary electricity and to be a part of the community,” Elliot said.

For more information on Progress Energy go to www.progress-energy.com.

Hollie Nivens can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 19 or by e-mailing at hnivens@yourdailyjournal.com