Dive Brief:
- Northern Indiana Public Service Co. has filed its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with state regulators, outlining how it intends to replace four coal-fired units that will be retired over the next seven years.
- Through 2019, NIPSCO plans to rely on existing capacity and spot purchases, and after that, the utility said it believes combined cycle gas units are the best solution, but didn't mention renewable energy—including wind and solar—as surefire options.
- The utility's generation mix is more than 70% coal, and upgrade technology will factor heavily into its future plans.
Dive Insight:
As recently as 2010, the utility's generation mix was about 90% coal-fired, so it is making progress. But it appears the utility is mostly looking to gas-fired generation to replace the lost capacity from the retired coal units instead of the
"Based on current findings in the IRP, NIPSCO expects that a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) is a likely candidate, but this option is subject to change, based on key market, compliance and technology developments," the utility said in its statement.
NIPSCO said it has also invested more than $800 million in new environmental technologies for some of its coal units, "nearly all of which was directed toward those units expected to continue operating," to comply with federal regulations.
In August, NIPSCO announced it was considering shuttering four coal units in the next seven years, rather than pay up to $1 billion in costs to keep them running. The decision was driven in part by regulations, including new Coal Combustion Residuals rules and Effluent Limit Guidelines, that will require additional investments at each of the utility's plants with compliance dates of 2018 and 2023.
Now, the utility has specified it will retire its Bailly Generating Station coal-fired units as soon as mid-2018
and two of its R.M. Schahfer Generating Station coal-fired units by the end of 2023. The Midcontinent ISO will need to review and approve the retirements.
NIPSCO President Violet Sistovaris said the utility had identified a "preferred path that provides customer and environmental benefits, reflective of our goal to focus on providing affordable, clean energy while maintaining flexibility for future technology and market changes.”
The statement said she also stressed the company’s goal is to provide "ongoing work opportunities for existing
employees by proactively working with union leadership and affected employees."
NIPSCO is not the first to rely on fossil fuels to replace retiring generation. Fellow Indiana utilities Indianapolis Power and Light and Duke Energy Indiana have also planned to retire coal plants in the state and replace them with gas-fired generation.
