Evaluation of Utility Planning and Expenditures in Kentucky
For this project, Synapse provided expert testimony, comments, and litigation support in three cases before the Kentucky Public Service Commission involving resource planning and environmental upgrade expenditures by Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities (the Companies). In two certificate of public convenience and necessity cases, Synapse reviewed and critiqued the Companies’ proposals to invest billions of dollars in existing coal-fired power plants to make them compliant with potential environmental regulations that may apply to those plants. Synapse’s comments on the Companies’ 2011 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) covered the modeling process and assumptions regarding energy efficiency, load forecasts, renewable energy, and other supply-side alternatives. In all of these cases, our review included factors influencing the decision to retire a plant versus the costs of bringing a plant into compliance with anticipated environmental regulations. Testifying on behalf of the Sierra Club, Synapse demonstrated that the proposed investments at two of the Companies' coal-fired units were not reasonable because it was more cost-effective for the Companies to retire those two units and acquire replacement capacity and energy from other resources. In November 2011, the Companies entered a settlement under which they agreed to retire the two units as Synapse had recommended.