Duke Energy Will Pay for Problems at Edwardsport Plant

INDIANAPOLIS  — Duke Energy has reached a settlement with Indiana's utility consumer counselor calling for it to foot another $85 million in costs associated with its problem-plagued Indiana coal-gasification plant.

The settlement announced Friday means Duke Energy, not its Indiana ratepayers, will pay those operating costs for the 618-megawatt power plant that went online in 2013 near Edwardsport in southwestern Indiana.

A 2012 settlement between Duke Energy, Indiana's utility counselor, consumer groups and others required it to pay about $900 million in construction cost overruns on the $3.5 billion plant. The new settlement would boost ratepayers' total project savings to nearly $1 billion.

The settlement still needs the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission's approval.

If the IURC approves the deal, Duke Energy says "it would resolve all Edwardsport-related proceedings pending" before that commission.