Power Plant Ethics

EDWARDSPORT, IND. (WTHI) - A swarm of controversy hits Duke Energy and its new power plant in southern Indiana.

The problems began when Duke Indiana President Mike Reed hired Scott Storms, a former attorney of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

With the commission Storms had been involved in the process of setting what rates customers would pay to cover the costs of the plant, and that set off a series of ethic investigations.

Duke suspended both Reed and Storms and hired an outside law firm to look into the hiring.

Governor Mitch Daniels ordered a re-opening of all Duke cases before the commission and fired IURC Chairman David Lott Hardy.

The IURC now is conducting its own audit of the Duke Energy cases.

Despite the troubles many in southern Indiana are still solidly in support of the project.

The price of the Duke Energy power plant in Knox County has changed drastically.

It's gone from a little more than $2 billion to $3-billion.

The growing costs led to hearings and the IURC to approve an 18 percent rate increase.

When a Commission attorney working on the case was hired by Duke Energy last month an ethics controversy erupted and investigations began.

Even as this controversy unfolds many in the area say they are still in support of the plant.

"A lot of people behind it and the power plant has been pretty good to the city of Bicknell and the North Knox area," said Bicknell Mayor Jon Flickinger.

"I don't think there's as much concern here in Knox County as one would expect," said Marc McNeece with the Knox County Chamber of Commerce, "simply because when you drive by the facility you see it being built. You see the impact of those workers here. You see the impact Duke's going to have here in the future."

The recent controversies have brought up the name of another power plant project that people here don't want to think about.

Back in the 1970's Public Service Indiana tried to build a power plant at Marble Hill.

The problems there left that project in moth balls.

That's something critics are proposing for the Edwardsport project, but no one in Knox County wants.

"I hope it's not true because like I say Bicknell and North Knox needs this power plant out there," said Flickinger.

Those in support of the plant say shutting it down won't fix the ethics dilemma in Indianapolis, but it would cut off the jobs and the economic engine that's expected to keep the area running for a long time.

The ethics issues have even led some state legislators to call for the hiring of an independent investigator to look into the relationship between the company and the commission.