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"These samples were all generated under the new, more rigid stan- dard that requires them to be taken when mines are operating at 80% production or more," said Joseph Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "And the results clearly show that mine opera- tors are able to comply with the rule. That's good news for the health of all coal miners and our efforts to end black lung disease." In collaboration with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), MSHA will host a series of workshops on Best Practices for Controlling Respirable Dust in Coal Mines. "These workshops are part of MSHA's ongoing commitment to assist the mining industry in the implementation of the new rule," said Main. The first workshop took place on Tuesday, October 28, at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, West Virginia. Mine managers and operational staff, mine workers, safe- ty and health professionals, mine engineers, manufacturers and consultants are encouraged to attend additional workshops to be held in Birmingham, Alabama; Evansville, Indiana; and Grand Junction, Colorado, in 2015. AEP Requesting Purchase-power Agreement Rider on Bills American Electric Power Co. (AEP), for decades one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, is asking Ohio regulators to, in essence, approve price guarantees that would allow for the con- tinued operation of four coal-burning power plants — Conesville, Zimmer, Stuart and Cardinal — representing nearly 2,700 megawatts of generation capacity. AEP's request for a so-called purchase-power agreement (PPA) rider to be included in the monthly bills of its approximately 1.5 million Ohio customers is expected to be acted upon by early December by the Ohio Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Before then, the commission could rule on a separate application by the Columbus, Ohio-based company covering some 400 megawatts of the Ohio Valley Electric Corp. (OVEC) that AEP controls. OVEC, created in the 1950s to supply electricity to a uranium enrich- ment plant in Portsmouth, Ohio, operates the Kyger Creek and Clifty Creek baseload coal plants in Ohio and Indiana, respectively. Together, they produce more than 2,200 megawatts of electricity. Several other regional electric utilities also are part owners of OVEC. The AEP requests come as the company prepares to retire more than 6,000 megawatts of coal-fueled generation in the Midwest over the next couple of years to comply with new federal Environmental Protection Agency rules. The largest PPA sought by AEP applies to nine units at the four plants. Together, the nine units burn an estimated 10 million tons of thermal coal annually and are major customers for coal mines in several states. In all, AEP is expected to burn about 55 million tons of coal in 2014. In Ohio, only AEP's 2,600-megawatt Gavin coal plant along the Ohio River near Cheshire would not be covered by a PPA. AEP contends customers could save millions of dollars over the next decade under the plan. AEP Ohio, a subsidiary, would be enti- tled to the capacity, energy and ancillary output of AEP's share of the nine units. Other utilities also own portions of the plants. AEP Ohio would bid all of the energy, capacity and ancillary services related to the units into the PJM Interconnection LLC market and pass along the resulting net benefits or cost to its customers. PJM is an electric grid operator based in Pennsylvania. As of late October, the PUC had not tipped its hand on how it will rule. It has received dozens of comments, both for and against the AEP proposal. A group of major commercial customers includ- ing Lowe's, Costco and Staples voiced opposition to the plan in October. Nevertheless, UBS Securities said in a late October report it expects the PUC to approve the OVEC PPA, as well as a PPA for at least the Conesville plant. KCP&L; Files for Rate Increase to Recover Environmental Costs Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L;) recently filed a request with the Missouri Public Service Commission to increase base rates for electric service by 15.8%, which would result in an average resi- dential customer paying an additional $14 per month, if approved. The rate request process takes approximately 11 months in Missouri, and new rates are expected to take effect on or about September 30, 2015. One of the primary reasons for the proposed increase is the utility's need to recover costs for federal and state-mandated envi- ronmental upgrades at its La Cygne power plant. These invest- ments will allow La Cygne, one of the company's largest and lowest cost coal-fired power plants, to continue operating after June 2015, when major environmental regulations go into effect. Once completed, approximately 72% of KCP&L;'s coal fleet will have emission-reducing scrubbers installed and all of its large base- load coal units are expected to be in compliance with existing environmental rules and regulations." Other reasons for the increase request include the numerous infrastructure and system improvements KCP&L; has made to maintain the overall reliability of its electrical system and modern- ize the grid. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require KCP&L; to make upgrades to its La Cygne power plant, which is the second largest power plant in KCP&L;'s system. It produces a sig- nificant amount of the electricity for this region and it's also one of the lowest cost coal-fired power plants in KCP&L;'s fleet. Carbon Capture, Conversion Project Opens in Texas Texas Department of Energy and Skyonic Corp. officials have announced opening a $40 million project at a San Antonio plant, which will convert 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into com- mercial products, including sodium carbonate and bicarbonate, hydrochloric acid and bleach. State Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the operation pro- vides "commitment" to carbon innovation "that can have a posi- tive impact on the economy while reducing emissions;" SkyMine's operation, partly underwritten by $28 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act as well as state assistance, will cre- ate 40 full-time permanent jobs. The project has been designed to be retrofitted to coal-burning power plants, but it could also be used in other industry applica- tions, such as the production of cement, glass, steel and natural gas power, according to company representatives. Byproducts will offset higher carbon footprints with indefinite storage capacity, they added; further testing will manipulate feedstock for algae- derived biofuels by removing sulfur oxides, nitric oxides, mercury and other heavy metals from flue gas. n e w s c o n t i n u e d November 2014 www.coalage.com 19