2 June 2009 -- A U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Indiana ordered Duke Energy to shut down three, 50-year-old units at the company's West Terre Haute Wabash River Station no later than Sept. 30.

Duke said the majority of the plant's capacity is unaffected by the ruling, which calls for units 2, 3 and 5 to be retired, while the remaining Duke Energy-owned units at the station (4 and 6) will be unaffected. Shutting down units 2, 3 and 5 will remove a combined capacity of 265 MW, which is 39 percent of the station's 677 MW capacity.

Following an adverse ruling by a jury in May 2008, Duke Energy had proposed retiring the three units in 2012, when the new integrated gasification combined cycle plant in Edwardsport comes on line. The court's order accelerates that timetable by two years.

The judge also ruled:

• The company will not have to install additional emissions reduction equipment on units 4 or 6.


• Duke Energy will have to surrender sulfur dioxide (SO₂) allowances for the period between May 22, 2008 and Sept. 20, 2009. The number of allowances is less than requested by the government.


• The government's proposed fine on Beckjord Station should be reduced from $1.32 million to $687,500.



"The units at Wabash River impacted by this decision are more than 50 years old," said James L. Turner, president and chief operating officer of Duke Energy's Franchised Electric & Gas segment.