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| AES Cayuga |
AES Corp., owner of the recently re-started Finger Lakes power plant formerly know as Milliken Station, has filed for bankruptcy. The company blames the ongoing economic depression.
AES Corp. (AES) units that either own or lease six coal-fired power plants in New York state sought bankruptcy court protection, citing the depressed economic environment for the electric power industry.
AES Eastern Energy LP and 13 other AES affiliates listed as much as $1 billion in debt in Chapter 11 filings yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. AES Eastern listed $100 million to $500 million in assets.
The units want to sell or transfer their only two plants in active operation, in Cayuga and Somerset, as part of a settlement with certificate holders, Peter Norgeot, president of AES NY, said in a court filing.
As we reported in May, financial problems at AES Cayuga are causing headaches for taxpayers in the Lansing school district. Most Finger Lakes residents understand the Obama recession's impact on AES' power sales, but how many of us have ever heard of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative? The RGGI boils down to a massive New York state tax on coal-fired electric generation, resulting in higher rates for already strapped consumers. In addition, the tax may be forcing CNY electric utilities to switch to less expensive Canadian hydro power, further damaging the local plants' revenues.
For the past three years, New York has participated in the RGGI Cap & Trade scheme without the authorization of the state Legislature! Already this Cap & Trade energy tax has cost New York businesses and ratepayers a staggering $327 MILLION! Not only are we seeing an increase in our energy bills because of this mandatory cost increase to production being passed on to consumers, but this tax is also hitting us in other areas such as food, goods, and services.
Bold added. We encourage our Finger Lakes neighbors to attend the upcoming AFP presentation in Ithaca, referenced in the One of Nine post linked above.
Taxation Without Representation: The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in NYSA presentation by Lisa Thrun, Grassroots Chair,The New York Chapter of Americans for ProsperityTuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 at 6:30 pmTompkins County Public Library - Borg Warner Room101 E. Green St., Ithaca NY
Thanks, South, for the link and the publicity for the RGGI meeting on Jan. 17th.
ReplyDeleteCoal fired electric plants should be replaced by natural gas driven ones. But, anti-fracking groups seem determined to prevent the US from producing the necessary natural gas. There will only be more AES type bankruptcies and higher costs for consumers if we don't adopt a sensible national energy policy. The potential problems in the Straits of Hormuz make domestic natural gas development an imperative.
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