Misplaced Pages

#776223

58-458: Grand Gulf's reactor is the most powerful in the US and the 7th most powerful in the world, with a core power of 4408 MW th yielding a nominal gross electrical output of 1443 MW e . Grand Gulf is operated by Entergy , which also owns 90% of the station through their subsidiary, System Energy Resources Inc. The other 10% is owned by Cooperative Energy . Adjacent to the operating Grand Gulf station,

116-441: A heart attack . After several months of recuperation, he returned to Couchwood , his vacation estate near Jones Mills , between Malvern and Hot Springs . The severity of Couch's condition was concealed from the public, and he continued as director of Arkansas' Infantile Paralysis Campaign against polio even as his condition worsened. Harvey Couch died at Couchwood from complications of cardiovascular disease . At 11 a.m. on

174-541: A newspaper advertisement seeking mail clerks; the pay was $ 75 per month, significantly higher than his then salary of $ 20. Passing the entrance exam in Shreveport , Louisiana , qualified Couch to enter the United States Post Office 's Railway Mail Service , for which he would sort mail in one of the many railway postal cars which criss-crossed the nation. Couch initially worked on a Railway Post Office route on

232-485: A 114,000-square-mile (300,000 km ) area. Entergy is the only U.S. utility to make the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) nine years in a row. The DJSI is a listing of the companies whose overall environmental, social and economic sustainability performance scores were in the top 10 percent for their sector. Entergy was named in 2008 to Forbes list of America's Most Trustworthy Companies ,

290-617: A child. This organized system, spanning four states, provided direct access from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. Thousands of jobs were created through railway employment and small businesses that sprouted with the birth of new communities that formed along the railway thoroughfares. In addition to his business interests, Harvey Couch contributed through a variety of public service roles, some of which were during times of national crises. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson created councils of defense at

348-615: A funeral train to carry Couch's body from funeral services in Pine Bluff to Magnolia for burial there in Magnolia Cemetery. Couchwood is Couch's island estate on Lake Catherine. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt both spent time on the island as guests. Couchwood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , as is Couchwood Historic District , a larger area. There are five red cedar log-houses on

406-566: A greatly expanded government effort to encourage business. One such program was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), established under President Herbert Hoover in 1932. Harvey Couch was selected as one of seven directors on the RFC's board. Couch's mission was to finance public works projects and decrease the number of unemployed Americans, which in 1932 was 13 million. Because the government set strict rules in paying back

464-579: A likeness of Couch was placed at the park's entrance on U.S. Route 82 . The plaque cites his importance as an entrepreneur, industry executive and public servant. In February 1940, Couch developed a severe case of influenza , but insisted on attending the Democratic National Convention that summer in Chicago even though he had not recovered. After the convention, he traveled to Baltimore , Maryland , and Washington, D.C. , where he suffered

522-454: A lumber company to bring electricity to rural Arkansas. In the 1920s, Couch set his sights on buying electric companies in other states. In 1923, he merged four independent companies in Mississippi into Mississippi Power and Light. Two years later, he formed Louisiana Power and Light to provide power to his Mississippi customers from northern Louisiana's natural gas fields. Meanwhile, in 1922,

580-422: A pioneer of modern broadcasting. On the trip he also met Lee de Forest , inventor of the wireless radiotelephone and the vacuum tube. Couch bought equipment and decided to set up a radio station in his home state, "to advertise Arkansas and, incidentally, AP&L". He saw great potential benefits for his company and Arkansas. AP&L had already been planning to create a radio system so its generating plants around

638-529: A profit of more than $ 1 million. His business interests in Louisiana brought Couch into political alliance with Huey Pierce Long Jr. , the flamboyant governor and United States senator . By the time North Louisiana Telephone Company had been sold, Couch was already exploring the possibilities of developing a similar interconnected electric utility system. Both Malvern and Arkadelphia had awarded franchises for citywide electric utilities, and in both cities,

SECTION 10

#1733086211777

696-589: A ranking based on corporate governance practices and accounting transparency. On February 24, 2010, the Vermont Senate voted to prevent the Vermont Public Service Board from issuing the necessary certificate that would allow for the Vermont Yankee plant to have its license renewed for another 20 years. The vote will not affect current operation of the plant, and the issue could be revisited by

754-454: A subsidiary of General Electric , had merged several competing electric utilities in New Orleans into New Orleans Public Service, an EBASCO subsidiary. Mitchel began turning his attention to other territories, and eventually began competing with Couch. The two men ultimately merged their resources. In 1925, Electric Power and Light Corporation, an EBASCO subsidiary headquartered in New Orleans,

812-456: A tiny community in Columbia County in southern Arkansas. The eldest of six children, he assisted his parents and younger siblings with the endless work associated with a small cotton farm. His father was also a Methodist minister. When Couch was seventeen, his father's health deteriorated, and the family moved to nearby Magnolia , the county seat of Columbia County. During this time, he

870-646: A total of six nuclear units , and provided support services to one: The company's nuclear division is headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi . Entergy operates more than 40 plants using natural gas , nuclear , coal , oil and hydroelectric power with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity to serve its 2.9 million customers in the Gulf South . Its extensive transmission system carries approximately 30,000 megawatts of power across more than 15,700 miles (25,300 km) of interconnected lines within

928-426: Is an unfinished concrete structure that was to be the containment for Unit 2, a twin to the existing Unit 1. In December 1979, staggered by construction cost, Entergy (then called Middle South Utilities) stopped work on Unit 2. On September 22, 2005, it was announced that Grand Gulf had been selected as the site for a GE ESBWR reactor. For details, see Nuclear Power 2010 Program . This was to be Unit 3. In 2007,

986-599: Is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States after Exelon Corporation . It had annual revenues of more than $ 11 billion in 2010 and approximately 15,000 employees. Entergy's main operating segments consist of the U.S. utility segment and the non-utility nuclear segment. The U.S. utility segment provides retail electricity services to approximately 2.9 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The non-utility nuclear segment owns and operates

1044-650: The Deep South of the United States . Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana , and generates and distributes electric power to 3 million customers in Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas . Entergy has annual revenues of $ 11 billion and employs more than 13,000 people. Entergy traces its history to November 13, 1913, with the formation of Arkansas Power Company. Founder Harvey C. Couch used sawdust from

1102-460: The Electric Bond and Share Company (EBASCO, a subsidiary of General Electric ) under Sidney Z. Mitchell merged several competing streetcar and electric utilities into New Orleans Public Service . Mitchell began turning his attention to other territories, and eventually began competing with Couch. The two men ultimately decided to merge their resources. In 1925, Electric Power and Light Corporation

1160-573: The Harvey C. Couch School (also listed on the National Register) to his native Calhoun in 1928. He has also been awarded honorary degrees from: Hendrix College, Baylor University, Peabody College, Subiaco College, and Future Farmers of America Arkansas Aviation Historical Society inducted Couch into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997. The Sam M. Walton College of Business at

1218-631: The Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway into a major transportation system. His work with local and federal government leaders during World War I and the Great Depression gained him national recognition and earned him positions in state and federal agencies. He also established Arkansas' first commercial broadcast radio station. Couch was born in Calhoun,

SECTION 20

#1733086211777

1276-817: The Ouachita River . The first of several such dams, Remmel Dam, was completed in December 1924. Carpenter Dam followed in 1933. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed Blakely Mountain Dam in 1952, after Couch's death. Damming the Ouachita River transformed Arkansas's countryside and created three large lakes. Lake Catherine and Lake Hamilton in Garland County , popular lakes for public recreation, were named after Couch's only daughter, and close friend and company lawyer Hamilton Moses. Revenue generated by construction of Remmel Dam

1334-820: The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway between St. Louis and Texarkana , then a Memphis and Texarkana run over the St. Louis Southwestern Railway , before getting an assignment in Louisiana south of his home town of Magnolia. On 4 October 1904, Couch married Jessie Johnson of Athens in Claiborne Parish east of Minden , a small city in Webster Parish in which he had business interests. Together they had five children. His brother, Peter Couch, worked with him on various business ventures and held executive positions in several of his companies. Prior to working for Couch, lifelong friend and business attorney Hamilton Moses

1392-573: The University of Arkansas inducted Couch into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2008. Magnolia Business Park in Magnolia, Arkansas, was formally renamed "Harvey Couch Business Park" during a ceremony at the entrance to the park on 19 November 2012. Four of Couch's grandchildren attended the ceremony. The entrance road was renamed Harvey Couch Boulevard, and a brick pedestal with a plaque and

1450-576: The ESBWR unit, at the request of Entergy. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination , and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity. The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Grand Gulf

1508-575: The Entergy network; until 2012, it was based on where the former Gulf States Utilities was in Beaumont. Entergy Texas has since moved its operations to The Woodlands. In May of 2018, Entergy New Orleans was embroiled in a scandal surrounding its controversial proposal for a natural gas power plant in East New Orleans. An Entergy subcontractor used Crowds on Demand to artificially lobby council support for

1566-534: The Louisiana Navigation & Railway Company for a total of $ 27 million. Following Interstate Commerce Commission approval, Couch became president of the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1927, and merged all three railways into the K.C.S.-L.&A. System. He created a syndicate of ownership and operators, among those, younger brother Peter Couch, assumed the role of vice-president and general manager. Couch finally had his railway empire that he dreamt of as

1624-552: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an Early Site Permit (ESP) to Grand Gulf. In 2008, Entergy and NuStart submitted a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) application for a potential new nuclear unit at the Grand Gulf. On January 9, 2009, Entergy indefinitely postponed work towards the license and construction of Unit 3. In September 2015 the NRC withdrew the COL for

1682-531: The Union National Bank in the capital city of Little Rock , and William Thomas Couch. While still working on the Railway Post Office route from McNeil, Arkansas , into north Louisiana, Couch was exposed to the development of the long-distance telephone. Believing he could earn money distributing telephone service, he formed a partnership with the postmaster of Bienville , Louisiana, Ben Cheen. In

1740-554: The city of New Orleans in August 2005, Entergy temporarily relocated the 1,500 employees and contractors who worked at the headquarters to other cities, including Clinton, Mississippi , Little Rock, Arkansas , and The Woodlands, Texas . In April 2006, the company began moving back into its New Orleans headquarters. In 2011, Entergy and Coulomb Technologies , an electric vehicle charging station maker, began to donate free electric vehicle charging stations at 16 sites at college campuses in

1798-579: The control of a new holding company, Middle South Utilities. It changed its name to Entergy in 1989, and merged/bought Gulf States Utilities, based in Beaumont, Texas , as of 12:00 midnight, January 1, 1994. In the late 1990s, Entergy pursued a strategy of global expansion into unregulated markets, acquiring substantial facilities in Australia, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. Shareholder dissatisfaction with

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-477: The country in close touch". He promoted WOK all over Arkansas, including in many hotels (which were installing radios in lobbies), the Arkansas State Fair and even in prisons. Listeners enjoyed the lack of commercials, but WOK became a financial drain on the utility company and required much employee time. In June 1923, broadcasting ceased, with the expectation it would resume in the fall. The station's license

1914-477: The day of his funeral at Lakeside Methodist Church in Pine Bluff, all trains on his railroad network halted their route for a minute of silence in his honor. Diesel locomotives and a number of the cars from Couch's beloved K.C.S.-L.&A. system, including the Southern Belle passenger train, which had 120 mph capabilities and air-conditioned compartments, were diverted to Pine Bluff , Arkansas, to serve as

1972-572: The federal loans, many applicants weren't granted project approval. Three large projects that did receive approval took many years to generate jobs: the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge ; the waterworks system of Pasadena , California , and the Colorado River Aqueduct to Los Angeles . Overall, the RFC failed its mission to create much-needed jobs. But, under Couch, small projects received funding and thousands of jobs were created during

2030-519: The first time. In 1916, AP&L's second generating plant opened in Russellville , seat of Pope County in north-central Arkansas. The plant was adjacent to a coal field which provided a steady supply of fuel. Under leadership of Couch, AP&L continued purchasing city utility systems and building electric transmission lines throughout Arkansas. As demand for electric power increased, Couch began formalizing plans for hydroelectric development on

2088-467: The gas plant. The New Orleans City Council ended up fining Entergy New Orleans $ 5 million for this paid actors scandal. Harvey C. Couch Harvey Crowley Couch, Sr. (21 August 1877 – 30 July 1941), was an Arkansas entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings to control a regional utility and railroad empire. He is regarded as the father of Arkansas Power and Light Company and other electric utilities now part of Entergy ; he helped mold

2146-464: The leak time. The NRC is investigating to find the source of the leak. Tritium is a very low level beta emitter with an approximate half-life of 12.3 years and it cannot penetrate the outer dead layer of skin. The main concern with this isotope is inhalation or ingestion. Entergy Corporation Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in

2204-535: The legislature in either a special session later in 2010 or in its next regular session in 2011. Entergy Texas operates as a wholly owned subsidiary. This was done to prepare the Texas side for de-regulation under Texas law, but Entergy later notified the Public Utility Commission of Texas that it would not split off the Texas side as a de-regulated operation. Because of this, the Texas side remains connected to

2262-646: The military during World War I. The defense council assisted the United States Employment Service in Arkansas, with the money Couch generated, to help ensure that soldiers from Arkansas would have a job when they returned home. Thousands of cards containing work information were sent to businesses, soldiers, and their relatives to help ensure that the soldiers would find work at a place that best fit both parties. In some cases, soldiers still posted overseas were sent letters confirming they had jobs waiting on them back home. The Great Depression led to

2320-499: The pumping was stopped. The accidental release was reported to the Mississippi Health Department and the NRC. As of the dates of the news reports, it was unknown both how much tritium had entered the river and how the tritium had collected in the standing water, given that Unit 2 was not an operational reactor and had never been completed. It is unknown how much tritium entered the river because samples were not taken at

2378-499: The remainder of the transmission organization , which reduces flow of cheaper electricity into the area. With a integrated power utility business model, Entergy makes money by constructing power plants, reducing the company's incentive to build transmission connecting it to other regions. Experts state these capacity contraints result in higher profits for the company at the expense of customers and lower reliability, such as rolling blackouts during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. Prior to

Grand Gulf Nuclear Station - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-442: The results of this strategy led to a shakeup of management, culminating with the ouster of longtime CEO Ed Lupberger in 1998. Lupberger was replaced by Wayne Leonard, formerly of Cinergy , who supervised the company's disinvestment from overseas holdings. Since its inception, Entergy has been headquartered in New Orleans. That city had also been home to Entergy's various corporate predecessors since 1925. After Hurricane Katrina hit

2494-473: The risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Grand Gulf was 1 in 83,333, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. After heavy rains in late April 2011, workers were pumping standing water collected in the abandoned, never-completed Unit 2 turbine building into the Mississippi River. Detectors sounded alarms at the presence of tritium in the water, and

2552-551: The southeast corner of Louisiana and the cities of Lafayette and Baton Rouge, the eastern three-fourths of Arkansas and the western half of Mississippi . It also includes part of southeastern Texas , including the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange and Conroe-Woodlands-Kingwood areas. A member of the Fortune 500 , Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it

2610-645: The southern U.S. Its first installation was at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge , and is free to use for faculty and students. In 2013, Entergy joined the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) as is southern region following an Department of Justice investigation into the company's anti-competitive behavior. By joining MISO rather than the Southwest Power Pool , Entergy's service areas have limited interconnection to

2668-534: The spring of 1903 they completed 15 miles of telephone line construction from Bienville to Arcadia, Louisiana . After buying out Cheen's share of the business for $ 1,000, Couch and friend Dr. H. A. Longino formed the North Louisiana Telephone Company. By 1910 the company had constructed more than 1,500 miles of line, serving 50 exchanges in four states. In 1911, at age 34, Couch sold the company to Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, giving him

2726-577: The state level to aid the Council of National Defense . Couch served under Arkansas Governor Charles H. Brough as Fuel Administrator for the Arkansas Council of Defense. Overcoming the problematic coal shortages that plagued the state, Couch was able to provide coal for Arkansans and create a profit. He contributed all the money, $ 27,749.06, to the Arkansas Council of Defense, more than half its income. There were 71,862 Arkansas soldiers that served in

2784-779: The state would have easy communication. Couch demonstrated the radio in November 1921 to the Pine Bluff Rotary Club. WOK, "Workers of Kilowatts", went live the night of 18 February 1922. Immediately, AP&L started promoting WOK, and acquired more broadcasting equipment. There were no commercials on the station; it was fully supported by the utility company. In coming months, the station had many firsts in Arkansas: first broadcast sermon, first broadcast sports event, first broadcast music concert, first remote church broadcast. Couch extolled WOK (and radio in general) for "bringing all parts of

2842-486: The use of the current Entergy logo, each subsidiary had its own distinctive logo. Upon the renaming of the company from Middle South Utilities System to Entergy, the present logo was adopted. Louisiana Power and Light Company, for example (today's Entergy Louisiana) used the logo shown at right extensively from about 1967 to 1989, on buildings equipment, and advertising. Each of Middle South Utilities' subsidiaries used similar-styled logos Entergy's service territory includes

2900-595: The utility companies were in decline, and only provided night-time service. Couch proposed a partnership with Arkansas Land & Lumber Company, a large sawmill operation in Malvern, whereby sawdust and waste material purchased from the sawmill would be used to fuel boilers, producing steam for two 550-kilowatt turbines to generate electric power . The new system, a predecessor of Arkansas Power and Light Company (AP&L), became operational on 18 December 1914, providing Malvern and Arkadelphia with 24-hour electric service for

2958-568: The winter of 1932–33. One of the United States New Deal programs was the creation of the Public Works Administration in 1933, which was a magnification of Couch's public works sector inside the RFC. Couch founded WOK, the first broadcast radio station in Arkansas. Meant to service the Pine Bluff area, its signal reached large parts of the country. In 1921, Couch visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and radio station KDKA ,

SECTION 50

#1733086211777

3016-420: Was 6,572, a decrease of 18.6 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 321,400, a decrease of 0.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Port Gibson (5 miles to city center), Vicksburg (25 miles). Alcorn State University is 25 miles southwest of the plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of

3074-510: Was a law partner of future U.S. senator Joe T. Robinson . The Democrat Couch was the father-in-law of Pratt C. Remmel , the only elected Republican to have served as mayor of Little Rock in the 20th century. Remmel's wife (and Couch's daughter), Catherine Couch Remmel (1918-2006), is honored by the naming of Lake Catherine near Hot Springs. His sons were Johnson Olin Couch (1905-1958), Kirke A. Couch, Harvey Couch, Jr. (1908-1963), an officer of

3132-437: Was formed with Couch as its president. It was the parent company for Arkansas Power and Light, Louisiana Power and Light, Mississippi Power and Light and New Orleans Public Service. As the electric utility industry continued to prosper and expand, Couch began to devote some attention to his earlier interest, locomotives and the railway. A group of investors, led by Couch, gained control of the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and

3190-689: Was formed, an EBASCO subsidiary headquartered in New Orleans, with Couch as its president. It was the parent company for Mississippi Power and Light, Louisiana Power and Light, New Orleans Public Service, and Arkansas Power and Light. EBASCO fought the constitutionality of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 , losing a Supreme Court case in 1938 , and was ordered dissolved under the provisions of that act in 1949. Mississippi Power and Light, Louisiana Power and Light, New Orleans Public Service and Arkansas Power and Light were deemed to be an integrated system, and were reorganized under

3248-872: Was in excess of $ 25,000 per year. Inexpensive energy produced by these new projects helped lure several major industrial plants to Arkansas. Pine Bluff received the state's first textile mill, the International Paper Co. opened a paper mill in Camden , and other companies followed. In the 1920s, Couch had set his sights on buying electric companies in other states. In 1923, he merged four independent companies in Mississippi into Mississippi Power and Light. Two years later, he formed Louisiana Power and Light, which provided power to his Mississippi customers from northern Louisiana's natural gas fields. Meanwhile, in 1922, Sidney Mitchel of Electric Bond and Share Company (EBASCO),

3306-508: Was instructed by a future governor of Texas and president of Baylor University , Pat Neff , at Southwestern Academy in Magnolia, also known as Magnolia Academy. He left school early to help with the family finances and assist his mother, the former Marie Heard, with his younger siblings. His first paying job was to start the boiler every morning at Lum Barnett's cotton gin , for which he received 50 cents daily. After working in several clerical positions at local small businesses, Couch saw

3364-522: Was renewed in September 1923 for another three months, but WOK remained silent. Couch later donated the radio equipment to the former Henderson-Brown College in Arkadelphia. Couch was nominated for governmental positions by Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt . He received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Baylor University and was a 33rd degree Mason. Couch donated

#776223