This story was originally published by Washington State Standard.Electric utilities across the Pacific Northwest are fuming that their customers might be saddled with the costs of a coal-burning power plant that isn’t producing any power.
The messy dispute stems from the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to sustain the American coal industry.
The owner of the coal plant near Centralia, Washington, said it is complying with a federal order to keep the facility open — although it appears to have burned its last lump of coal back in December. Now, TransAlta, is seeking tens of millions of dollars in reimbursement for costs incurred to keep the workforce and the 55-year-old power plant available to operate.
The company’s CEO said TransAlta is also still committed to a plan to retrofit the big plant to burn natural gas in the future.
In December, TransAlta’s long-standing plan to retire the only remaining coal-fired power plant in the Northwest was blocked by an emergency 90-day order from Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who deemed the plant vital to regional energy security. Wright has since renewed his order twice, most recently in mid-June.
