Dive Brief:

• Invenergy contends that Duke Energy's planned 750-MW natural gas-fired power plant in South Carolina will be more expensive than a proposal offered by the Chicago-based independent power producer.
• Duke says that its proposal for a combined cycle power plant was the least expensive option that emerged during a competitive solicitation process that included 12 bidders.
• The South Carolina Public Service Commission will consider Invenergy's complaint when the regulatory panel starts reviewing this week Duke's plan for the Lee plant in in Wayne County, S.C.

Dive Insight:

Utilities earn a return on their investments in building power plants, but get no return on power purchase agreements. IPPs like Invenergy argue that this makes utilities biased towards building their own projects. In this case, it will be up to the South Carolina PSC to take a hard look at the bidding process and determine how Duke ended up deciding that its own project was the best option for ratepayers.