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Regulators plan more hearings on Duke plant costs

Associated Press
February 21, 2011
Keywords
Duke Energy, Electric, Energy & Environment, Regulation, Utilities, Utility rates
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Indiana utility regulators will hold two additional field hearings to take public comment on Duke Energy's request to pass along to ratepayers the $2.9 billion cost of a coal-gasification plant being built near Edwardsport in southwestern Indiana.

The state utility regulatory commission will hold field hearings Feb. 28 at Columbus North High School and March 1 at the Kokomo Event Center. Both hearings will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and Citizens Action Coalition are urging Duke customers to attend the hearings. Both groups have expressed concern about the project's rising costs.

Duke says it is the first time that coal-gasification technology has been used on such a scale and it has needed more steel, piping, electric cable and other materials than originally expected.

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  • A Waste
    JoeFebruary 22, 2011 9:26 AM
    I've not read a good thing about this plant. It is essentially the same starting type of fuel, they can't garuntee savings and it costs $3 billion to build! With the best case scenario of savings it would take over 150 years to recoupe just the money spent on building the plant. But everyone in the deal says it is unlikely it will save users that much ever and definitely not every month. This is purely a scheme to get mitch's political pocket book fatter and to provide a hefty cost of doing political business fee to the coal industry, an industryb that comprises less than .5% of both GDP and employment! Good job elected leaders, way to start out running......
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  • Royalties for Indiana Ratepayers?
    Dave TudorFebruary 21, 2011 3:47 PM
    If coal gassification is such a new technology that Duke Energy cannot accurately project the costs for the Edwardsport project, and Duke ratepayers (including me twice) are being asked to pay for the development of this research, shouldn't ratepayers become the owners of the plans, and charge others for the plans and research we are buying?
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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