An administrative law judge presiding over a case at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that is examining System Support Resource (SSR) charges to keep the Presque Isle Power Plant (PIPP) running has issued an initial decision that would require ratepayers to receive $17 million in refunds, plus interest, the Michigan Agency for Energy said

The Michigan Agency for Energy said in a statement that the initial decision, "agrees with Michigan that the owner of the PIPP – Wisconsin Energy Corporation – massively overcharged customers for the cost of operating the plant."

"In its arguments, Michigan demonstrated that WEC cut a deal to get paid for imaginary improvements over a much shorter time. When the people footing the bill finally got a chance to check the math, we saw there were over $10 million in charges for improvements that were never made. We are glad the administrative law judge agrees that the amount put forward was unsupportable, and we look forward to FERC’s final decision," said Valerie Brader, executive director of the Michigan Agency for Energy

Brader also criticized the procedures of the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) that led to this situation, and called for the quick adoption of proposed reforms that MISO has filed at FERC.

"MISO blindly accepted numbers without reviewing their reasonableness, resulting in the state and other interested parties having to challenge the expenses through costly proceedings at FERC," Brader said. "Michigan strongly supports proposed reforms that will let the people footing the bill put those costs to the smell test before anyone signs on the bottom line."

See the initial decision here

Docket ER14-1242 et. al.

Tags:
FERC   Michigan   MISO   Midcontinent ISO  

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