UPDATE 5/14/13 @ 9 p.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Residents in Lawrence County, Kentucky say there are plenty reasons shutting down Kentucky Power Company’s Big Sandy Plant would hurt their communities.

Along with 150 jobs at the plant, county leaders say they'd lose more than 900 thousand dollars in tax revenue.

People had a chance to voice their concerns to the state Public Service Commission Tuesday evening at the Lawrence County Community Center.

Kentucky Power is seeking approval from the commission to purchase 50 percent interest in Ohio Power Company's Mitchell power plant south of Moundsville, West Virginia.

State Representative Rocky Adkins says transferring power in from out of state would lead to a bigger rate increase in the long run, and he would prefer to see the Big Sandy plant modified to meet EPA regulations rather than shut down.

"Transferring power in from another state is not our best option,” Adkins said. “We don't need to be paying for scrubbers in West Virginia when we could be paying for scrubbers here at our facility."

Kentucky Power says in its application the purchase price of $536 million would be more than $404 million less than upgrading Big Sandy to meet stricter federal air quality standards.

Both units burn coal, but the PSC says the Mitchell plant has the equipment needed to comply with the new regulations.

PSC Communications Director Andrew Meinykovych says even if they deny Kentucky Power's application to get power from the plant in West Virginia, there's no guarantee or hint that would keep the Big Sandy plant open.

"Kentucky Power is going to shut down the Big Sandy plant,” he said at the meeting Tuesday evening. “That is not something the commission has the power to prevent them from doing."

Meinykovych says the PSC will be part of an evidentiary hearing in Frankfort on May 29, and they'll make their decision on whether to approve Kentucky Power’s application after that, likely some time this summer.

The PSC will have another meeting May 15 in Whitesburg and Hazard.

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UPDATE 4/29/13
LOUISA, Ky. (AP) -- The agency that regulates Kentucky's utilities is planning public meetings on a proposal that would allow the Big Sandy generating facility in Louisa to be retired.

The meetings are May 14 in Louisa and May 15 in Whitesburg and Hazard.

Kentucky Power is seeking approval from the state Public Service Commission to purchase a 50 percent interest in Ohio Power Company's Mitchell power plant south of Moundsville, W.Va.
Kentucky Power says in its application the purchase price of $536 million would be more than $404 million less than upgrading Big Sandy to meet stricter federal air quality standards.

Both units burn coal, but the PSC says in a news release the Mitchell plant has the equipment needed to comply with the new regulations.

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UPDATE 12/19/12 @ 3:30 p.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP & WSAZ) -- A utility company says an 800-megawatt coal-fired power plant in eastern Kentucky that was once slated for costly environmental upgrades will instead be shut down.

Kentucky Power announced Wednesday it would retire Big Sandy Power Plant's Unit 2 in 2015.

The utility, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, withdrew a plan in May to spend nearly $1 billion to add a scrubber designed to produce cleaner emissions and comply with federal air regulations. Ratepayers were told the upgrades would raise their monthly electric bills by an average of $31.

Kentucky Power said Wednesday it would instead draw about 780 megawatts of power for the region from the Mitchell Generating Station in Moundsville, W.Va. Kentucky Power says the new plan would cost customers about $6 more a month.

The future of Unit 1 at the plant is still in the works. According to the release, the company plans to issue a request for proposals early next year to potentially replace the generation of that unit.

Unit 1 will be retired as a coal-fired generator in 2015.

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UPDATE 12/21/11 @ 3 p.m.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is cracking down on the largest remaining source of uncontrolled toxic air pollution in the U.S. -- the nation's power plants.

The EPA announced on Wednesday long-overdue national standards to cut mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants, a regulation that will force the oldest and dirtiest facilities to close or clean up.

The rule comes after intense lobbying from some power producers and criticism from Republicans, who said it would threaten jobs and electric reliability.

To ease those concerns, the administration will encourage states to make available an additional year to comply with the rule. Case-by-case extensions could also be granted to address local reliability issues.

Some in the industry wanted an automatic and longer delay.

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UPDATE 12/5/11 @ 2:05 p.m.
LOUISA, Ky. (WSAZ) -- Kentucky Power announced Monday it plans to spend nearly $1 billion at the Big Sandy Power Plant to bring the plant up to Federal EPA standards.

Those improvements could also mean that customers will see a $31 or 31 percent a month increase in their electric bills once the project is complete, according to a press release.

Kentucky Powers says the money will be used to build dry flue gas disulfurization or “scrubber” system on the plant’s 800-meagawatt electric generating unit.

The other generating unit at the plant is expected to be retired at the end of 2014, according to press release.

If the project is approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission the scrubber project should be completed in 2016. Some 700 jobs will created during the construction process.

A scrubber uses chemical or mechanical process to remove sulfur dioxide produced by burning coal.

Earlier this year, Kentucky Power announced it might have to shut down a number of coal fired power plants due to EPA regulations. Big Sandy was one of those plants.

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UPDATE 6/9/11 @ 6:30 p.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va (WSAZ) -- AEP says it needs several more years and up to eight billion more dollars to meet federal EPA compliance deadlines.

If they don't get that time, drastic changes will happen.

The power company's plan for EPA compliance will permanently retire the Kanawha River plant and the power plants in Mason County and Moundsville, W.Va. by the end of 2014.

They say part of the plan would be to rebuild the Kentucky Big Sandy power plant at Louisa to burn natural gas instead of coal by the end of 2015.

AEP says compliance by 2014 instead of 2018 or 2020 will hike W.Va. customer's electric bills by up to 15 percent, in Kentucky up to 35 percent.

Shutting down coal burning plants - means using much less coal, and local leaders say that will devastate ancillary businesses – and local communities

AEP says this is not a done deal, as the entire energy industry continues to work with the EPA on a more flexible compliance timetable.

AEP says it's invested more than seven billion dollars since 1990 to reduce emissions.

The EPA says many of these power plants remain toxic polluters - and these regulations will allow many Americans to breathe cleaner air.

But AEP representatives say the company has lowered many toxic emissions by up to 80 percent – and it needs more time to get more done.

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ORIGINAL STORY 6/9/11 @ 10:43 a.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Several power plants in our region are set to be closed and several more will be rebuilt in hopes of meeting EPA regulations.

According to a press release, AEP is planning on closing or rebuilding three coal-fueled power plants in our region by 2014. Five total will be closed. They also plan to rebuild several plants to be fueled by natural gas.

The closings are part of AEP's plan to meet proposed requirements by the EPA. According to the release, the compliance plan AEP is putting together will cost in the range of $6 billion to $8 billion, and will affect hundreds of jobs.

"We support regulations that achieve long-term environmental benefits while protecting customers, the economy and the reliability of the electric grid, but the cumulative impacts of the EPA's current regulatory path have been vastly underestimated, particularly in Midwest states dependent on coal to fuel their economies. We have worked for months to develop a compliance plan that will mitigate the impact of these rules for our customers and preserve jobs, but because of the unrealistic compliance timelines in the EPA proposals, we will have to prematurely shut down nearly 25 percent of our current coal-fueled generating capacity, cut hundreds of good power plant jobs, and invest billions of dollars in capital to retire, retrofit and replace coal-fueled power plants. The sudden increase in electricity rates and impacts on state economies will be significant at a time when people and states are still struggling," said Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman and chief executive officer.

As the closings take place, AEP expects that at least 600 jobs will be lost.

According to a AEP spokesperson, 242 jobs will be eliminated in West Virginia.

Phil Moye tells WSAZ.com 62 jobs will be eliminated at the plant in Kanawha County, 120 jobs in Mason County and another 60 jobs in Moundsville.

"We are deeply concerned about the impact of the proposed regulations on our customers and local economies. Communities that have depended on these plants to provide good jobs and support local services will face significant reductions in payroll and property taxes in a very short period of time. The economic impact will extend far beyond direct employment at power plants as thousands of ancillary jobs are supported by every coal-fueled generating unit. Businesses that have benefited from reasonably priced coal-fueled power will face the impact of electricity price increases ranging from 10 percent to more than 35 percent just for compliance with these environmental rules at a time when they are still trying to recover from the economic downturn," Morris said.

"Although discounted by some, the potential impacts on the reliability of the transmission system, particularly in the Midwest, are significant. The proposed timelines for compliance aren't adequate for construction of significant retrofits or replacement generation, so many coal-fueled plants would be prematurely retired or idled in just a few years. AEP's compliance plan alone would abruptly cut generation capacity in the Midwest by more than 5,400 MW. Depending on the year, another 1,500 MW to 5,200 MW of AEP generation would be idled or curtailed for extended periods as pollution control equipment is installed," Morris said.

AEP's current plan for compliance with the rules as proposed includes permanently retiring the following coal-fueled power plants:

Glen Lyn Plant, Glen Lyn, Va. – 335 MW (retired by Dec. 31, 2014)

Kammer Plant, Moundsville, W.Va. – 630 MW (retired by Dec. 31, 2014)

Kanawha River Plant, Glasgow, W.Va. – 400 MW (retired by Dec. 31, 2014)

Phillip Sporn Plant, New Haven, W.Va. – 1,050 MW (450 MW expected to retire in 2011, 600 MW retired by Dec. 31, 2014)

Picway Plant, Lockbourne, Ohio – 100 MW (retired by Dec. 31, 2014).

AEP would retire generating units at the following locations but continue operating some generation at the sites:

Big Sandy Plant, Louisa, Ky. – Units 1 and 2 (1,078 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014

Big Sandy Unit 1 would be rebuilt as a 640-MW natural gas plant by Dec. 31, 2015

Clinch River Plant, Cleveland, Va. – Unit 3 (235 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Units 1 and 2 (470 MW total) would be refueled with natural gas with a capacity of 422 MW by Dec. 31, 2014

Conesville Plant, Conesville, Ohio – Unit 3 (165 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2012; Units 5 and 6 (800 MW total) would continue operating with retrofits

Muskingum River Plant, Beverly, Ohio – Units 1-4 (840 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Muskingum River Unit 5 (600 MW) may be refueled with natural gas with a capacity of 510 MW by Dec. 31, 2014, depending on regulatory treatment in Ohio

Tanners Creek Plant, Lawrenceburg, Ind. – Units 1, 2 and 3 (495 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Unit 4 (500 MW) would continue to operate with retrofits

Welsh Plant, Pittsburg, Texas – Unit 2 (528 MW) retired by Dec. 31, 2014; Units 1 and 3 (1,056 MW) would continue to operate with retrofits.

The two coal-fueled generating units at Northeastern Plant (935 MW) in Oolagah, Okla., would be idled for a year or more while emission reduction equipment is installed. Both units would be idled beginning Jan. 1, 2016. One unit would return to service by Dec. 31, 2016. The other unit would return to service by Dec. 31, 2017.

AEP will complete construction of the Dresden Plant (580 MW natural gas) in Dresden, Ohio, in 2012.

In addition to the retrofits above, AEP would install or upgrade emissions reduction equipment at seven other coal-fueled power plants in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Texas.

Several people who say they are employees of American Electric Power have called WSAZ about this situation. They say the company held meetings for employees Thursday morning, explaining the plan.

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.