PUCO Rejects Deal To Have Ratepayers Subsidize a Coal-Fired Power Plant

"COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio made history Wednesday in a ruling refusing to allow AEP Ohio to saddle ratepayers with extra charges to subsidize the continued operation of a 1950s-era coal-fired power plant that it owns along with FirstEnergy and other state utilities.

The decision to reject AEP's request for a subsidy -- immediately applauded by some consumer and environmental groups -- sends a shot over the bow of FirstEnergy's similar proposal and could jeopardize the continued operation of the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and the W.H. Sammis coal-fired power plant on the Ohio River.

FirstEnergy has argued that it cannot guarantee the continued operation of Sammis and Davis-Besse without a special "power purchase agreement" or PPA, that would force all FirstEnergy customers to pay extra charges to keep Sammis and Davis-Besse running even though the electricity they generate is often more expensive than the power available in wholesale markets."

John Funk reports for the Cleveland Plain Dealer February 25, 2015.