Hearings begin this Wednesday at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to determine who should pay the unbelievable costs associated with Duke Energy’s newest power plant, the problem-plagued and scandal-ridden Edwardsport IGCC plant in Knox County, Indiana.
The coal-gasification plant has now been operating for just over 18 months. Duke initially promised the plant would cost $1.9 billion, but the price tag has since ballooned to over $3.5 billion.
Captive Hoosier ratepayers doled out nearly $400 million before Duke Energy’s Edwardsport coal gasification power plant delivered any net energy to the grid, according to testimony filed late Monday night by a coalition of citizen groups before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). Through the end of March 2014, consumers have paid in excess of $688 million for the scandal-ridden and problem-plagued power plant.
A coalition of Indiana environmental and citizens groups including the Sierra Club, Citizens Action Coalition, Valley Watch, and Save the Valley announced a legal settlement today that requires Duke Energy Indiana to stop burning coal at most of its Wabash River coal-fired power plant in Vigo County and to invest in new clean-energy projects.
These are the issues of immediate importance we are working on right now.
