NIPSCO Wants Customers to Pay to Clean Up its Coal Ash Pollution, Plus a Profit

NIPSCO wants to charge customers $40 million – plus earn a profit for their shareholders – to clean up the five coal ash ponds at its Michigan City coal-fired power plant.

 

The coal ash is being transported by trucks from unlined coal ash ponds at its Michigan City coal plant to a lined coal ash landfill at its R.M. Schafer Generating Station. This work has already started and aims to be completed by the end of 2022. 

 

NIPSCO estimates that this will result in a $0.30 per month bill increase for an average residential customer, but these initial costs will increase in the future.

 

While it's good that NIPSCO is now taking steps to properly dispose of this toxic coal ash, there are some big problems with NIPSCO’s proposal:

 

    • NIPSCO wants customers – not shareholders – to pay for all of these costs. NIPSCO not only wants to get its money back from consumers, but it is asking permission to earn a profit for its shareholders on this work by charging customers more than the actual cleanup costs.

 

    • NIPSCO wants residential customers to pay more than their fair share of these costs and subsidize the costs of the cleanup paid by its big commercial and industrial customers.  

 

    • NIPSCO is only proposing to clean up a small portion of its coal ash mess at Michigan City. NIPSCO has no plans to clean up all, or even the majority, of the coal ash at the site, such as the coal ash used as “fill” that poses a grave public health danger.

 

  • NIPSCO is not monitoring how the toxic chemicals in coal ash used as fill at this site could be getting into Lake Michigan, groundwater, or nearby streams.

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TAKE ACTION!

SPEAK OUT: Attend the IURC public field hearing and make your voice heard!

When: Monday, August 1st, 6pm Central / 7pm Eastern

Where: City Hall Chamber, 100 East Michigan Boulevard, Michigan City, Indiana 46360.

Let NIPSCO and the IURC know what you think about NIPSCO’s coal ash plan.

 

Can't make the field hearing?

Email your comments to the OUCC at uccinfo@oucc.IN.gov, and be sure to reference Cause Number 45700.

 

CAC has intervened in this case and we will work:

  • To ensure that NIPSCO ratepayers are treated fairly when it comes to the final tab for the cleanup and who pays it.
  • To bring attention to, and start a meaningful dialogue regarding the massive amounts of coal ash not being addressed in this case

 

 

 

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