A court says state regulators can force Illinois electricity customers to help pay for the $1.6-billion FutureGen project.
The 2-1 decision Tuesday by the Illinois Appellate Court OKs a state plan to charge an estimated $1 to $1.40 a month to help pay for the long-delayed project.
Ken Humphreys is CEO of the FutureGen Alliance. The group of coal companies is working with the U.S. Department of Energy on the project. Humphreys says the court decision will keep the project moving.
Power suppliers including Commonwealth Edison argued that state regulators lack authority to require the payments.
Commonwealth Edison says in a statement that it will comply with the decision.
FutureGen would refit a coal-fired plant in the Morgan County town of Meredosia, along the Illinois River, with technology that would remove carbon dioxide and store it underground.
