Ohio Regulators OK 2 Deals That Subsidize Older Power Plants
Source: Associated Press
Ohio Regulators OK 2 Deals That Subsidize Older Power Plants
By JULIE CARR SMYTH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Mar 31, 2016, 4:19 PM ET
Regulators in Ohio approved two closely watched energy deals on Thursday allowing two utility companies to impose short-term rate increases on electricity customers to subsidize some older coal-fired and nuclear power plants.
The deals have attracted mountains of written testimony, websites, email-writing campaigns and sparring in television ads. That's because they follow an old model at a time of sweeping change in the U.S. energy market that consumer groups believe should be driving prices down, not up, and forcing coal-fired plants to close.
Opponents immediately hinted they'd take legal action, most likely alleging the deals are anti-competitive, and a group of independent power producers has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene in the cases.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio took a single combined vote on the power purchase agreements, which were separately filed by Akron-based FirstEnergy and Columbus-based AEP.
With the plans, the power companies seek profit guarantees to cover operational costs at certain aging coal-fired and nuclear plants as they modernize the power grid and transition to cleaner energy sources.
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