New Study, Same Result: FE Plan Would Cost $4B

A new study by the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has analyzed the effects of FirstEnergy’s proposal to utility regulators to allow it to pass long-term costs and risks of three aging coal-fired plants and one aging nuclear plant onto captive customers of the utility.

The report finds that: “FirstEnergy is using greatly inflated forecasts of future natural gas prices and PJM electricity market prices to justify its proposal.”

And, “FirstEnergy’s proposal—under an uninflated, reasonable natural gas price outlook—would in truth result in a net cost to ratepayers of approximately $4 billion, rather than the net $561 million gain that the company promises.

“IEEFA concludes that FirstEnergy proposal is a bad deal for Ohio customers and would lock Ohio into subsidizing the continued operation of aging and uneconomic power plants while hindering opportunities for lower cost and cleaner energy resources that could provide jobs and significant economic benefits for the state.”

IEEFA proposes: “…. rather than propping up these struggling plants, Ohio policymakers work instead for an orderly transition away from outmoded energy generation by supporting the
development of cleaner, modern and more efficient resources.”