Forced into $300,000 fine, council debates energy plan

by JASON HAWK

News-Times reporter

Local taxpayers are in the lurch for at least $300,000 in fines stemming from an investment in a low-cost coal power plant in southern Ohio.

Amherst is one of 48 cities that in the 1980s bought into cheap power from the Richard H. Gorsuch Power Station near Marietta. Now the 60-year-old plant is set to close in December after years of scrutiny over carbon emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency levied $15 million in fines against shareholders in the plant -- including Amherst -- and city council is wrestling with how to handle payments.

Randy Corbin, vice president at American Municipal Power, briefed council members Monday. He said the EPA's fines could grow even more unless Gorsuch owners find ways to reduce energy use by 70,000 megawatt-hours.

To meet that goal, he asked Amherst to buy into an extra $150,000 incentives program -- on top of the $300,000 that must already be paid -- over the next three years.

The city would pay the money to Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, a non-profit aiming to convince Ohioans to cut back on electricity usage.

He said the Vermont company waives carrots under the noses of businesses willing to be energy-efficient. It also gives coupons and rebates to residents who buy green appliances and light bulbs.

This is the first time the EPA is using energy efficiency as a pollution control, Corbin said.

Councilman Joseph Gambish said he has a hard time spending $50,000 a year for what he characterized as "double coupons."

"To me, this stinks," he said.

Gambish said the fines look like the EPA is using violations at the Gorsuch plant to force communities to adopt green policies, and he's not sure residents will save enough in rebates to make spending the tax money worth it.

Corbin told council that overall power savings are expected to be twice its cost.

But he also said that residents can expect average electricity bills to rise by an additional $6 per year.

Amherst safety-service director Dennis Clotz said he doesn't like a program that passes the buck to consumers, and he can't see how buying into the incentives program will significantly help the average Joe.

John Courtney, a public utilities consultant for the city, urged officials to pay the extra money in hopes of avoiding even stiffer future fines.

He also said the EPA's fines came after new laws raised the standards for pollution controls. The old plant didn't meet the new standards despite modernization projects there over the decades.

The plant is closing because it will be less costly to build a new one than to further refit Gorsuch, he said.

Council tabled the issue Monday with plans to seek opinions from constituents. They must make a decision on how to handle the fines by the end of September.

If they choose to buy into the extra rebates program with Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, benefits will be rolled out starting in January 2011.