Indiana passes legislation to stall coal plant closures

摘要

Indiana utilities would be prohibited from shutting down power plants without proper notification and regulatory review for almost 14 months under legislation passed by state lawmakers. The Indiana Senate on March 10 voted 28-21 to adopt a conference committee report on House Bill 1414, while the Indiana House of Representatives voted 55-38 to adopt the committee report. The bill states that a public utility “may not retire, sell, or transfer a reliable capacity resource with a capacity exceeding [80 MW]” before May 1, 2021, unless the utility first notifies the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The utility must provide the IURC with “at least six months advance notice” of any planned retirement, sale or transfer if it has not already been disclosed in the utility’s most recent integrated resource plan.