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JEFFERSON CITY | The Senate added new restrictions and boosted penalties Thursday for utilities that erect power plants illegally, but approved legislation letting Aquila Inc. keep its Cass County generating station.
The final 26-5 vote masked controversy over the bill, as lawmakers debated the appropriate penalty for a utility they agreed created its own problems by bullying local officials and making stupid decisions.
The two points of view were captured during a discussion early in the day between Sens. Joan Bray and Kevin Engler.
“They defied a court order to build this plant, and I’m not comfortable just giving them a slap on the wrist,” said Bray, a St. Louis County Democrat. “With this bill, we’re saying it’s OK that they broke the law.”
“That’s correct,” said Engler, a Farmington Republican. “I’d like to lie to you, but it’s a fact. Yes, this plant was illegal. Yes, landowners can sue and win a lot of money.
“But from the point of view of other consumers in the area, it’s not good to tear the plant down. (Nearby landowners) can come away with a fistful of flesh, but how does that affect other consumers? With Aquila’s current financial condition, it could leave them bankrupt.”
The bill would expand the Public Service Commission’s power by authorizing the commission to approve the construction of a gas or power plant after construction is completed.
Current law requires the commission to determine that the construction is in the public interest before construction begins.
Every court has agreed that the plant is illegal, and the appeals court ruled in March that the $140 million plant would have to be dismantled.
Aquila then approached the legislature about changing the law.
Sen. Chris Koster, a Harrisonville Democrat who lives about eight miles from the plant, said he threatened to block similar legislation last year because Aquila was trying to get the law changed to avoid making monetary settlements to Cass County and local landowners. But the company has now agreed to pay $1.8 million to the county and is negotiating with property owners.
Aquila is clearly in the wrong, Koster said. But the commission encouraged company officials to flout county rules by granting bogus permission that it had no authority to grant, Koster said.
The threat of having to tear down the plant is inflating the amount of damages that nearby landowners hope to receive, several senators argued.
Koster estimated the total value of damages that landowners might receive at $7 million to $15 million. But the threat of the plant’s destruction boosts the potential payout to as high as $60 million, he said.
The Senate added several amendments to toughen penalties on utilities and to reduce the commission’s discretion in the case.
One change prohibits Aquila from charging ratepayers for the costs of damages paid to the county or to landowners.
The bill must now go back to the House. Differences between the two versions probably will be resolved by a conference committee.
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