RIVERTON, Kan. (AP) — Empire District Electric Co. plans to demolish its coal-fired power plant near Riverton, Kansas, sometime this month.

The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/2rdEtW0 ) the company isn't announcing the date of the demolition because it doesn't want to attract crowds.

Empire said Thursday the $6.5 million project will demolish three units of the plant. The demolition comes after the utility opened its natural gas-powered generating unit in 2016.

The parts of the plant being razed were all constructed around 1950. They were converted from coal-burners to natural gas in 2012 and retired in 2014 and 2015.

Blake Martens, vice president of electric operations, says the natural gas unit is more efficient and uses cleaner fuel.

Empire says the demolition is not expected to cause any service interruptions.

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Information from: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com