EVANSVILLE − CenterPoint Energy's natural gas turbine proposal to state regulators didn't include more than $77 million in necessary equipment for the project, the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor claimed Monday.
CenterPoint wants to replace its aging A.B. Brown coal-burning power plant with natural gas turbines, and pitched a $334 million price tag for the work to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
But the consumer counselor's office said the actual cost of the project should be 23 percent higher — totaling $411 million — according to its petition, and has asked for a new hearing on the matter so commissioners can reconsider what the project's total costs will be for its customers.
CenterPoint has said it will ask for a rate increase to cover the gas turbines cost. The utility has said customers could see monthly bills increase, but by less than $10. The petition said that opponents of the gas turbines asked about the additional equipment costs but CenterPoint didn't respond until after the deadline for filing evidence in the original hearing.
CenterPoint said the disputed equipment was added to A.B. Brown's coal units this year to keep them operating until the gas turbines are ready and the coal-burning plant can be retired in October 2023, according to the OUCC's petition for a new hearing.
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The utility also said it did not include the equipment in its project cost total because it was intended for A.B. Brown even though it would be used for the gas turbines when the coal plant is shut down, the OUCC said.
"CenterPoint Energy plans to respond to the OUCC’s petition and will provide more information at that time. However, we can confidently say that we’ve remained transparent in these proceedings," said Erin Merris, a CenterPoint spokeswoman. "As stated in our response to the request for information, these costs were necessary for the continued operation of Brown Units 1 and 2 and have no bearing on the construction of the combustion turbines. The ability to re-use equipment once we retire the units is evidence we are being prudent financially with our resources."
The OUCC represents consumers in matters before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which approved CenterPoint's request for the gas turbines on June 28. The OUCC received more than 2,000 pages of public comment, both in person and by letter, asking that the project not go forward.
"(The equipment) certainly increases the cost. It is a significant amount of money," said Kerwin Olson, executive director of the non-profit Consumer Advocacy Coalition, which also has opposed CenterPoint's gas turbines.
The OUCC petition also asked the utility commission to reconsider its approval for an interstate natural gas pipeline to supply CenterPoint's gas turbines. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has not yet authorized construction of the pipeline.
CenterPoint spokeswoman Erin Merris said in June that construction will start immediately, and the rate increase will be requested later in a separate request. She said rate increases will not come until a rate review at the end of 2023.
The company has the overall highest residential rates of the five investor-owned utilities in Indiana. It also has the smallest customer base, at 140,000 ratepayers.