Kentucky Power’s Application to Extend its Ownership Share of The Coal-Fired Mitchell Power Plant
Synapse provided expert testimony and analysis to support Sierra Club in evaluating Kentucky Power’s application to extend its 50 percent ownership share in the coal-fired Mitchell Power Plant. Previously the Public Service Commission of Kentucky ordered Kentucky Power to exit ownership of the plant by the end of 2028. In the current docket, Kentucky Power sought permission to reverse that ruling and continuing relying on the Mitchell Power Plant.
Synapse’s testimony focused on reviewing the Company’s analysis from both its original application, as well as its updated filings, as well as its most recent resource plans. We evaluated whether continued ownership was justified in light of the costs required to repair and replace the plant’s cooling tower. We found that based on the Company’s own analysis, converting Mitchell to operate on gas is a lower cost option than continuing to operate it on coal. And the conversion could avoid some of the required environmental compliance investments. We also found that the Company’s analysis provided in the docket was piecemeal and insufficient to support its request.
Synapse recommended that the Commission deny Kentucky Power’s request to continue its 50 percent ownership share in Mitchell beyond the end of 2028 on the basis that it had not presented robust analysis to support its request. We recommended that the Company refresh its bids for near-term PPAs. Finally, we recommended that Kentucky Power provide industry-standard production cost and capacity expansion modeling to support its requests to build new resources or invest in existing resources in this and all future CPCNs, especially in cases where its resource planning analysis is outdated.