Edwardsport power output below 1 percent of capacity in February

Output at the troubled Edwardsport power plant fell to less than 1 percent of capacity in February, a new low, according to figures filed Monday with state utility regulators.

Owner Duke Energy said the low amount was due to "equipment challenges" and a decision to move up spring maintenance.

The $3.5 billion plant, which went into commercial operation late last spring, is one of the most expensive construction projects in Indiana history. It has suffered numerous problems, including leaking valves, cracked pipes and frozen machinery.

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"Because of the outage and maintenance repairs, operations were limited in February," said Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protogere, "but the early completion of this maintenance work minimizes the amount of planned outage activities later this spring."

Protogere said the plant ramped up production in March. That is about 44 percent of its maximum capacity through gasified coal. The company is required to file monthly output figures for gasified coal with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

The plant also uses natural gas, but those figures aren't submitted monthly to the state.

The company last year estimated it would take 15 months to build up to its maximum output. "It's a large, complex project, and it has taken time to work out technical issues," Protegere said.

Some critics say ratepayers should not continue to pay for construction and financing costs on a plant that is not up to speed. They have called for an investigation into the plant's growing list of problems and delays.

"The ratepayers of Duke Energy should not be mandated to bear the risks and most of the costs of this boondoggle," said Kerwin Olson, executive director of Citizens Action Coalition, a grassroots lobbying organization that intervenes in utility cases.

The Office of Utility Consumer Counselor has said the plant consumed more energy than it produced late last year. The office is asking the IURC to examine Duke's request last month for customers to cover $1.5 million related to Edwardsport expenses.

Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283. Follow him on Twitter: @johnrussell99.