Indiana Supreme Court asked to review Rockport gas deal

Developers and opponents of the state's plan to resell synthetic natural gas produced at a planned $3 billion plant in Rockport have asked the Indiana Supreme Court to review the deal.

Both sides petitioned the state's highest court to review the 30-year contract between the Indiana Finance Authority and the plant's developers. Under the agreement, the state agency will buy the plant's gas, which is produced from coal, at a pre-negotiated rate and then resell it to Indiana utility customers, the Evansville Courier & Press reported Wednesday.

Attorneys for Indiana Gasification LLC, the company developing the plant, want the Supreme Court to confirm the contract is valid. Opponents led by Evansville's Vectren Corp. want justices to strike down the deal, which they argue is a departure from what Indiana lawmakers had originally intended when they approved the project. Vectren is a natural gas utility that serves customers across a large part of Indiana.

Under the contract, customers would benefit when the pre-negotiated rate is below open-market natural gas prices — but they would pay more when the rate is higher than those market prices.

"Hoosier ratepayers who depend on natural gas companies for their energy needs will be forced to pay more for their gas under the contract, without any reliable guarantee that they will be made whole before — or even after — the contract expires," Vectren officials said in court documents.

Briefs supporting Vectren's position have been filed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Manufacturers Association.

The Indiana Court of Appeals last year overturned approval of the deal by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission because of a technical flaw, but the court declined to review the deal.

In its petition, Indiana Gasification argues that the Supreme Court should simply send the contract back to the IURC with instructions to approve it with the technical change that the appeals court ordered.

If the high court rules against the deal, legislation set for a hearing Wednesday in the House Utility Committee would send the deal back to the IURC for another round of reviews.