It's not often in America that you see politicians cheer when American companies close factories and raise prices on customers, but that is Michael Bloomberg's reaction to what's happening in Kentucky. A Bloomberg Philanthropies blog post up at MikeBloomberg.com cheerily reports:
Recently the Sierra Club joined forces with Bloomberg Philanthropies to combat the dangerous health effects coal fired power has on children and families across the nation. Since that announcement, six plants have announced their intension to close.
The Louisville Courier-Journal has a news article up that blames (or credits, depending on how one sees it) the Environmental Protection Agency rather than Mr. Bloomberg for the closures. That article also gets into some of the questions that the Bloomberg Philanthropies leave unanswered:
The changes are expected to cost as much as $800 million, company officials said....
Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, lamented the planned decline in coal use by the utilities in a state that has some 18,000 coal miners."This is another way that appointed bureaucrats at the EPA are affecting the way we provide electricity for Kentuckians," he said....
The companies are seeking a 4 percent increase in rates for KU customers to cover the costs of the changes.
The companies are also continuing to ask the PSC for approval to raise rates 19 percent for LG&E customers, and 12 percent for KU customers, to recover costs associated with other environmental upgrades within the power system that serves nearly 80 counties in Kentucky....
Whelan said there are about 200 employees at all three plants to be closed, including 125 at Cane Run. Fewer workers will be needed to run the new Cane Run plant...
