Power Plant Approval Adds Steam to 
Campbell Soup's Future in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO - The five-member California Energy Commission this week voted to
 approve construction of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's (SMUD) cogeneration
 power plant adjacent to Campbell Soup's cannery and processing facility. 

The cannery processes one billion cans of 129 different products each year at the Franklin
 Boulevard site. 

The $186 million power plant to be built by Siemens Venture Sacramento, SMUD's co-
applicant, is expected to create 125 construction jobs and 21 permanent jobs. According to
SMUD, the project's operation and maintenance costs are likely to generate approximately
 $3 million annually in local expenditures. The annual sales taxes paid by the project to state
 and local governments is estimated at $232,000.

The 158 megawatt power plant will be built on a site adjacent to the Campbell Soup factory
 and provide electricity for an estimated 114,000 Sacramento Municipal Utility District
 customers and steam for Campbell Soup Company's manufacturing facility. Campbell 
Soup has approximately 2,000 full-time employees. 

California Energy Commission Vice Chair and Presiding Member of the project's Siting
 Committee Sally Rakow said, "The Campbell Cogeneration Project is a fine example of
 how a carefully integrated business plan can translate energy challenges into both
 environmental and economic benefits."

The cogeneration plant also will contribute to local air quality improvement efforts by
 displacing the steam produced by the current boilers at the Campbell Soup factory with
steam created as a by-product in the cogeneration process. In an additional conservation
 measure, recycled water from the soup factory will be used in the cogeneration process.

The Commission's decision found that construction and operation of the cogeneration plant
 are in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and will not adversely
 impact the environment. It will add generating capacity consistent with the electrical energy
 demand forecasted in the Commission's most recent Electricity Report.

As required by law, the project also is in compliance with requirements of other permitting
 agencies, including the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.

"Like its cousin cogeneration plants, the Campbell Soup Plant scores points from both the
 economic and environmental standpoints," said SMUD General Manager Jan Schori.
"Along with stabilizing electric rates and improving local air quality, the power plant will 
make it cheaper for Campbell Soup to do business in Sacramento."

The Campbell Project, one of four cogeneration plants that have undergone Energy 
Commission review, is an integral part of SMUD's long-term resource plan. The utility
 anticipates that highly cost-effective cogeneration will add nearly 600 megawatts of
 electricity by the year 1997.  The electricity will replace much of the power once produced
 by the now-closed Rancho Seco Nuclear Plant. 

The Energy Commission has reviewed the following SMUD projects: the Sacramento
 Ethanol and Power Cogeneration Plant, currently in the Commission's amendment
 process; the Carson Ice-Gen Plant, currently under construction; and, the Procter &
 Gamble Cogeneration Plant approved earlier this month. In May 1994, the Energy
Commission also approved SMUD's natural gas pipeline project, designed to provide 70 
million cubic feet per day of natural gas for the four cogeneration plants.

The combined construction costs of these five projects are estimated to be in excess of 
$600 million. The projects will bring more than 1,200 construction jobs and 130 full time
 operational and maintenance jobs to the Sacramento area.

Last year Campbell Soup considered moving its operations outside the area, but prospects
 of low cost steam makes staying in Sacramento more appealing.

The state Energy Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to certify all sites and related
 facilities for thermal power plants that generate 50 megawatts or more of electricity within
 California.

The Energy Commission accepted an application for power plant certification for the
 Campbell project in December 1993. The licensing process was completed within the 12-
month period required by state law as the result of cooperative efforts between the licensing
 agencies, SMUD, Siemens Venture Sacramento and Campbell Soup Company.


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