LANSING – The
Court of Appeals upheld a plan by Detroit Edison to use treated coal as a way
to reduce emissions and to include the costs of the coal in its power supply
cost recovery plan.
The Michigan
Environmental Council (In Re Application Of Detroit Edison Company For 2012
Cost Recovery Plan, COA docket No. 318388) had argued the plan, which essentially
had Edison selling its coal to two fuel companies to be treated and then buying
it back at the same price, violated the Public Service Commission’s code of
conduct for utilities and that the PSC’s order did not account for the tax
breaks to the fuel companies.
MEC had
argued the plan violated the code of conduct because it subsidized Belle River
Fuels
Company and
St. Clair Fuels Company by providing them tax benefits (their compensation in
the deal). But the court found MEC provided no evidence and no legal authority
to support its claims.
The court ofJudge
Mark Boonstra, Judge
Henry Saad and Judge
Christopher Murray also rejected the MEC’s claim that the PSC was wrong to
find that the $500,000 in tax credits to the two companies was irrelevant in
determining whether Edison minimized its fuel costs. MEC, the court said,
appeared to be arguing the PSC should have ordered Edison to negotiate a better
deal, but it found the PSC did not have that authority.
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