Kentucky Power's request for state permission to retrofit its
aging coal plant, which is the subject of upcoming public
hearings, has surprised some in the industry and led to a tense
debate before the state Public Service Commission. Last year,
the utility's parent company, American Electric Power, said the
burden of meeting new federal pollution standards probably would
cause it to retire many of its coal-fired power plants,
including Kentucky Power's Big Sandy plant, in favor of other
options such as natural gas-fired power generation. But since
then, Kentucky Power has done an about-face in favor of coal,
which historically has signified its service territory of more
than 170,000 homes and businesses in all or parts of 20 Eastern
Kentucky counties. The company has proposed installing a
scrubber to meet the more stringent EPA standards. It says the
coal-fired plant would remain cheaper than natural gas. Kentucky
Utilities took the opposite approach and was approved by the PSC
to proceed with retiring three