43
PUCO OKs profit guarantee plans for FirstEnergy and AEP
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio signed off Thursday on controversial profit-guarantee plans for FirstEnergy and AEP, written to subsidize the operation of aging coal-fired and nuclear-power plants over the next eight years.
The complex plans include provisions for the utilities to modernize the electric grid, with commitments from the companies to invest in renewable energy.
Regulators said the changes would save Ohio consumers an estimated $470 million ($214 million for AEP customers and $256 million for FirstEnergy customers) over the eight years of the agreement.
The Alliance for Energy Choice, environmental groups and others remained opposed to the plan, however.
Todd Snitchler, a former PUCO chairman and state lawmaker and current spokesman for the alliance, said in a statement that the plans would “force consumers to pay unnecessary, additional electric charges of at least $6 billion.”
And the Ohio Environmental Council estimated that the plans would cost electric customers an additional $100-$130 per year.
Those customers will be saddled “with high costs for the next eight years with old coal plants that should be on their way to retirement,” said Trish Demeter, the group’s managing director of energy. “It’s not the way we should be going in the state of Ohio. ... The Legislature’s move to keep our clean-energy standards on ice and the recommendation from the study committee to keep that going indefinitely coupled with this decision is just taking Ohio down the wrong path.”
The unanimous vote Thursday of PUCO Chairman Andre Porter and the four other commissioners came after a brief discussion during the panel’s regular business meeting in Columbus, with members saying the final plans will ensure reliable power supplies for Ohioans.
“The commission’s mission has long been to assure all residential and business customers access to adequate, reliable, safe and cost-effective utility services throughout Ohio,” Porter said. “Our focus remains the same today.”
The plans were offered to help the energy companies cover the costs of their operations at a time when energy prices have dropped.
Porter explained: “Retail electric prices are down, due partially to new fuels and resources being discovered in the vast Marcellus and Utica shale regions. Prices are also down because demand has decreased. While such low prices present benefits for consumers, they present challenges for those providing utility services.”
PUCO members each voiced their support for the modified plans.
PUCO Commissioner Thomas Johnson called the final plans “two well-rounded compromises that balance the interest of all parties involved.”