Change gives Rockport gasification plant better odds

The Indiana House has stripped a provision from a bill that would have subjected a proposed $2.8 billion coal-gasification plant to a second in-depth review by state regulators.

Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Bloomfield, successfully pushed an amendment Wednesday that would shield the southern Indiana project from the review sought by the plant's opponents, who contend it could saddle ratepayers with higher bills.

Ubelhor, who manages coal mines for Peabody Energy, told the chamber the project planned in Rockport along the Ohio River would be a huge boon for Indiana's coal industry.

"This is an anti-jobs bill. I'm trying to turn it into a jobs-providing bill," he said. "I'm trying to make sure this plant moves forward."

The changes approved by the House would mean Indiana state government's 30-year contract to buy and then resell the Rockport plant's synthetic gas would be more likely to survive legislative and legal challenges.

Lawmakers have been debating the wisdom of that contract, which was negotiated in 2011 by the Indiana Finance Authority under former Gov. Mitch Daniels to buy the plant's synthetic natural gas at a pre-negotiated rate and resell it to Indiana ratepayers at open-market prices.

A group of opponents led by Vectren Corp. has lobbied lawmakers to enhance the deal's protections for natural gas customers and is asking the courts to block the 30-year contract from moving forward. Those opponents expressed frustration Wednesday with the House's move.

Steve Francis, chair of the Hoosier Chapter Sierra Club, said in a statement that the House's actions "put Wall Street greed ahead of Hoosier families and values by gutting vital ratepayer protections."

The contract is the focus of an ongoing legal battle. Last year, the Indiana Court of Appeals voided state regulators' approval of the deal, ordering one 37-word portion to be stricken.

The Indiana Supreme Court may soon take up the case.

Under a measure the state Senate has approved, if the state Supreme Court follows the appellate court's lead and voids the deal, the entire regulatory process would start over and regulators would have more specific instructions this time to make sure ratepayers are protected.

The House Utility Committee approved a similar measure last week, but the full House rewrote it Wednesday when it adopted Ubelhor's amendment.

The altered bill would now order the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to investigate by May 25 whether a shale gas boom has changed future prices of natural gas so significantly that the coal-gasification deal should be scrapped.

That review, however, would be nonbinding.

The Evansville Courier & Press reported that there was no recorded roll call vote for Wednesday's vote. Instead, the House voted using a parliamentary move called a "division" where supporters stood and were counted, then opponents stood and were counted.

Ubelhor's amendment drew 48 members' backing, enough to win approval because some members were out of the chamber.