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Sparring Over Costs Of Coal Plant Profit Plan

A new study is acting as ammunition for opponents of a so-called coal plant bailout proposed by two electric utilities. Statehouse reporter Andy Chow explains...

The report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis -- or IEEFA -- says FirstEnergy’s plan to guarantee a profit for their struggling coal plants would cost consumers $4 billion.
 
But FirstEnergy estimates their ratepayers would only see their electric bills go up a few dollars a month for a year or two because as natural gas prices rise, coal will be able to compete. IEEFA’s David Schlissel disagrees.
 
Schlissel: “Those are all fantasy. There’s no evidence that gas prices are going to rise dramatically over the long-term as FirstEnergy appears to say.”
 
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio is scheduled to have a ruling on the proposal by March.