Production Support

Through its Production Support Organization, Fuel Services, in conjunction, with the responsible parties at the operating company offices and generating plants, coordinates inventory management activities for the Southern System. Inventory management includes the coordination of all activities required to safely and efficiently deliver coal to the system plants. Production Support employees with expertise in coal weighing and sampling systems are at the mines to monitor the loading and sampling of coal, as well as, mine operational performance. The expertise of these employees is critical to ensure proper coal quality is received. Coal quality directly impacts boiler performance and environmental control equipment performance which also impact cost. These employees are located in Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Wyoming.

Once the coal is loaded in railcars or barges and routed to the plants, other employees with expertise in the transportation of coal ensure the coal is delivered in a timely manner by constantly communicating with the transportation provider and the Southern system plants. Seventy-nine percent of the coal moved to system plants is by rail. In order to keep transportation cost as low as possible, over 11,000 railcars are leased and maintained by Production Support. These railcars transport in excess of 53 million tons of coal annually over every major U.S. railroad.

Production Support personnel with expertise in the areas of mine weighing and sampling, mine operation, transportation logistics, coal quality, inventory management, railcar leasing and railcar maintenance ensure reliable fuel transportation is provided at the lowest possible cost.

For coal transportation questions, contact us.