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From: James Kotcon <jkotcon@wvu.edu>
To: ec@osenergy.org
Cc: Joe Lovett <jlovett@appalachian-center.org>; Frank Young <fyoung@wvhighlands.org>; dteaney@appalachian-center.org; elena.saxonhouse@sierraclub.org
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 6:00:08 PM
Subject: [EC] New Report on Coal Costs

Attached is a new report by Tom Sanzillo of the firm TR Rose Associates done for the Conservation Voters of South Carolina regarding the Santee Cooper power plants in South Carolina.  The financial analysis is devastating to coal-fired power plants, with the concern that these plants are being hit by a triple whammy of increased construction costs, long-term increases in fuel costs, and the virtual certainty of carbon mitigation costs.  It calls for full disclosure of these costs and financial risks to investors and ratepayers.

I suggest that we might want to take this approach with the PSC, provided we get the right consultants, on the PATH hearings.  In fact, we might want to launch a pre-emptive strike by getting this issue into the media now, and do whatever we can to force the PSC to deal with it in upcoming proceedings.

Whaddya Tink?

Jim Kotcon