Scrubber Units May Cut DP&L Coal Costs
Posted on: Wednesday, 27 February 2008, 03:00 CST
By John Nolan Staff Writer
DAYTON -- Newly installed air pollution control equipment at Dayton Power & Light Co.'s Stuart and Killen electricity generating plants will give the utility the option of burning higher-sulfur coal that is cheaper, its parent company said.
The utility will be doing tests to determine how much of the higher-sulfur, northern Appalachian and Illinois basin coal it can mix into the lower-sulfur coal it currently burns to generate electricity, Paul M. Barbas, president and chief executive officer of DPL Inc., told industry analysts Friday, Feb. 22. DPL is the utility's parent company.
Barbas reviewed his company's 2007 financial performance for the analysts. DPL affirmed that it expects to earn between $1.90 and $2.10 per share this year, based on 118 million shares outstanding, and between $2.10 and $2.40 per share in 2009, based on 120 million shares outstanding.
Dayton Power & Light put one of its new scrubber units, which remove sulfur and other contaminants from power plant emissions before their release into the atmosphere, into operation last summer at the Killen plant. The first of four scrubbers began operating this month at the Stuart plant. Both are along the Ohio River.
DP&L has not said publicly how much it expects to save by being able to burn higher-sulfur coal, company spokesman Tom Tatham said.
DPL has said its $500 million program to install emission- control equipment, to comply with more stringent federal clean-air laws, is the most expensive environmental investment in the company's history.
Barbas said that as the program winds down, the cash that is freed up will be invested in the company's power system and used to increase cash dividends for shareholders.
Ohio Environmental Council spokesman Jack Shaner said that as long as the scrubbers do their job in meeting clean-air requirements, the OEC isn't concerned with which coal DP&L buys.
Shares of DPL (NYSE:DPL) closed at $26.26, up 12 cents for the day.
(c) 2008 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Dayton Daily News
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