Energy Secretary and shameless grifter Chris Wright is left sputtering by a single simple question – paraphrasing:
You have mandated an aging coal plant in my district to stay open, which will cost ratepayers 100 million in repairs just to keep it operating.
Explain.
Hilarity ensues.
A renewed federal order is keeping two aging Indiana coal plants running months after their planned retirement — and utilities say the price tag is quickly climbing into the hundreds of millions.
At a Tuesday hearing before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, NIPSCO President and Chief Operating Officer Vince Parisi said the mandate will require significant new spending to keep the aging coal units running, including major capital investments on top of day-to-day operating expenses.
“We’ll have fixed and variable operating costs… as well as any kind of capital investment,” Parisi said. “I think we’ve estimated it could be in excess of $100 million just in the investments in the units, and then operating costs on top of that.”