Price of coal gasification plant soars
EDWARDSPORT, INDIANA - Duke Energy officials say the cost of the coal-gasification power plant it's building in southwestern Indiana has risen another $150 million, boosting the project's estimated price to $2.5 billion.
Officials of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy said that the 630-megawatt plant's cost has gone up because its design has required more steel, piping, electric cable and other materials than originally expected. And the latest increase won't be the project's last.
Duke Energy Indiana President Jim Stanley says the utility will provide another cost revision by next March covering labor, engineering, procurement and plant startup costs.
This price increase and future increases must be approved by state regulators before they can be passed onto Duke ratepayers.
Related News
Nova Scotia can't order electric utility to lower power rates, minister says
HALIFAX - The province can't ask Nova Scotia Power to lower its rates to ease the financial pressure on out-of-work residents because it lacks the authority to take that kind of action, the provincial energy minister said Thursday.
Derek Mombourquette said he is in "constant contact" with the privately owned utility.
"The conversations are ongoing with Nova Scotia Power," he said after a cabinet meeting.
When asked if the Liberal government would order the utility to lower electricity rates as households and businesses struggle with the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mombourquette said there was nothing he could do.
"We don't have the…
