Many of the new gas plants are much ahead on cost savings compared to coal. More efficient many times 2 to 3 times as higher, less maintenance, and less people to operate. A 1,000 mw gas unit will have maybe 20-30 workers while a coal plant with complete pollution controls can have several hundred plus several maintenance contractors employing in some cases a few hundred more. Plus less cost when it comes to buying the lime and urea needed to operate such plants. Some I have talked with say the new gas plants make more economical since even with gas prices in $10-14 range, after that they would look at replacing coal with gas if they could build on old power plant sites. 
 
Another factor and maybe the biggest for AEP is Ohio did a deregulation some years ago. As part of this they are now competing with others which are lower cost producers. The competition is at their max on power production or buying just what they need, which means in times of high demand they have to buy from the spot markets. These plants which AEP own are fully scrubbed plants making them among the most expensive to operate. AEP does not want to sell or close these plants because they know in the future they will need the power too meet peak demands. But Ohio is basically saying close these plants or the market will do so for you. With a transfer they can insure they will keep the capacity while decreasing their future volatility in the spot energy markets. They will be able to buy this power from a sister company at a price they set instead of allowing the spot market place to set the price. Under deregulation they can sell this power at a higher premium to the retail customers. We in WV will be stuck with the cost of maintaining the plant so AEP can use it for peak demands.

Kevin Fooce
fooce@hotmail.com
304-751-1448 work
304-675-6687 home
304-593-2875 cell



 

Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2013 13:33:39 -0500
From: jkotcon@wvu.edu
To: jimscon@gmail.com; fmoose39@hotmail.com
CC: duane330@aol.com; almostnixie@cs.com; daniel.chiotos@gmail.com; ec@osenergy.org; bill_price@sierraclub.org; jkotcon@wvu.edu; wjreilly99@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: [EC] Fwd: Mississippi power plant poll

Note that this "increase" occurs on top of record high electric rates.  Due to falling fuel prices, rates should be headed down, not up.  In fact, I believe that this is the principle reason for the transfer.  Harrison is no longer competitive with gas, and the First Energy stockholders are looking for the ratepayers to assume this white elephant.
 
JBK

>>> kevin fooce <fmoose39@hotmail.com> 2/2/2013 11:11 AM >>>
What about the AEP one?

Kevin Fooce
fooce@hotmail.com
304-751-1448 work
304-675-6687 home
304-593-2875 cell



 

Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2013 22:45:08 -0500
Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: Mississippi power plant poll
From: jimscon@gmail.com
To: fmoose39@hotmail.com
CC: jkotcon@wvu.edu; Duane330@aol.com; almostnixie@cs.com; daniel.chiotos@gmail.com; ec@osenergy.org; Bill_Price@sierraclub.org; wjreilly99@yahoo.com

Unfortunately, the projected increase in a person's electric bill from this FirstEnergy scam may not be enough to really stir outrage - something like 6%.

On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 7:51 PM, fmoose39@hotmail.com <fmoose39@hotmail.com> wrote:
We should have a poll. I would go as far as saying we need billboards like FOC have. It should state the cost and how much we may have to pay. I would say we need to have several in the larger cities.

Sent from my HTC One™ X, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

----- Reply message -----
From: "James Kotcon" <jkotcon@wvu.edu>
To: <Duane330@aol.com>, <almostnixie@cs.com>, <daniel.chiotos@gmail.com>, "Jim Sconyers" <jimscon@gmail.com>, <ec@osenergy.org>, "Bill Price" <Bill_Price@sierraclub.org>, <wjreilly99@yahoo.com>
Subject: [EC] Fwd: Mississippi power plant poll
Date: Fri, Feb 1, 2013 7:24 PM


The line below caught my attention:
 
"75 percent of respondents say cost overruns should be paid by utility shareholders."
 
This is exactly the issue with the First Energy and AEP transfers.  Stockholders want to preserve their profits by dumping uncompetitive power plants on ratepayers.
 
Would it make sense to commission a similar poll in WV?
 
JBK

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Caitlin Pixley <caitlin.pixley@sierraclub.org>
Date: Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 3:52 PM
Subject: Fwd: Test
To: CONS-FRED@lists.sierraclub.org


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MS: Poll shows customer opposition to rate hikes via Kemper coal plant (Sierra Club)

The Sierra Club was supposed to release last Thursday the results of a poll meant to gauge Mississippi Power Co. ratepayers’ attitudes toward the Kemper County coal plant.
The environmental group delayed the results because of a hearing in which the Mississippi Public Service Commission reached a rate case settlement with the utility.
The delay ended Wednesday morning. The poll, conducted by Fondren Strategies, surveyed by landline and mobile telephone 400 respondents that a press release says were certified to be Mississippi Power customers.
The results say 65 percent of those polled said the possibility of their electricity rates going up approximately 33 percent once the plant is finished erodes their support of the project. About 75 percent of respondents say cost overruns should be paid by utility shareholders.
Mississippi Power has already filed to recover $172 million in financing costs associated with the project. The filing came one day after last week’s settlement, which lowered the maximum cost recoverable via PSC ratemaking proceedings from $2.88 billion to $2.4 billion.
If the PSC grants the $172 million recovery request, Mississippi Power says rates will go up an average of 21 percent, starting in April and lasting through 2013, for customers who use an average of 1,000 kWh per month.

The project’s overall rate impact, the company said on an analyst call Friday, will hover around 25 percent.
The Sierra Club has opposed the plant since its inception in 2009, calling it an expensive and unnecessary environmental hazard. The club has called for the plant to be converted to a natural gas-fired facility, which it says is cleaner than the lignite coal the plant will eventually use.
The project is on time for a May 2014 completion, Mississippi Power said recently.
Sierra Club’s own press release can be found here.

Fondren Strategies interviewed 400 voters in MS from Jan. 14 – 17; MoE is +/- 4.9% points at the 95% CI


 
--
Caitlin Pixley
Conservation Associate
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
353 Hamilton Street
Albany, NY 12210
(518)426-9144
caitlin.pixley@sierraclub.org


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Jim Sconyers
jimscon@gmail.com
304.698.9628

Remember, Mother Nature bats last.