If nothing else, Cinergy Corp. Chairman James Rogers is a realist when it comes to environmental costs.

        The utility, the nation's sixth-largest coal consumer, spent $650 million in the 1990s on pollution controls and is spending another $800 million to bring its power plants into compliance with federal nitrogen oxide emission limits.

Cinergy Chairman James Rogers stands before Cinergy's Beckjord power station in New Richmond. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        Still, he says, “I'm probably going to spend another $1.5 billion over the next 10 years or so” on future emission controls.

        All Mr. Rogers says he's seeking is some assurances about what those emission requirements will be.

        “We recognize there are going to be additional requirements to reduce emissions. Clearly with regard to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury, and maybe regarding carbon dioxide,” he said.

        “We'd rather see the timelines, particularly regarding the first three pollutants, pretty clearly articulated over a long period of time, for us to have plenty of time to work through them.”

        In the short term, Cinergy's higher environmental expenditures won't mean higher electric rates because the utility is in the midst of a rate freeze through 2005, triggered by Ohio's electric deregulation law.

        Cinergy's electric rates are about 20 percent below the national average, but future pollution controls will help shape whether they remain there, Mr. Rogers said.

KEY POLLUTANTS

Sulfur dioxide — It's an odorless gas at low concentrations, but can have a strong smell at high concentrations. It's produced by burning coal — most notably in power plants, but also in other industrial processes, such as production of paper and smelting of metals. Sulfur dioxide can harm vegetation and metals and can cause lung problems, including breathing problems and permanent damage to lungs. Northeastern states say it's a key cause of acid rain, making lakes potentially uninhabitable for all but acid-tolerant bacteria.     • Nitrogen oxide — Nitrogen oxides are produced from burning fuels, including gasoline and coal. It's a key component in the making of smog (the lung irritant sometimes called ozone) and acid rain.     • Mercury — This poisonous metal is a byproduct of burning coal at power plants. It can settle over waterways, pollute rivers and lakes, and contaminate fish.     • Carbon dioxide — This is the principal gas involved in the “greenhouse effect” that some scientists say is gradually altering the Earth's climate. Carbon dioxide is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas.

        For the last three years as chairman of the environmental policy committee of Edison Electric Institute, the power industry trade group, Mr. Rogers has sought compromise between environmentalists and the utility industry over new pollution controls. So far, he's had no success.

        But with debate over new pollution control legislation expected to heat up this spring, Mr. Rogers, who has led Cinergy since its creation through a merger in 1994, is renewing his efforts.

        Earlier this month, a coalition of environmental and investor groups released a ranking of emissions by the 100 largest electric generating companies.

        Cinergy, the 16th largest power producer overall, ranked fifth in nitrogen oxide emissions with 158,511 tons, fourth in sulfur dioxide emissions with 577,154 tons, eighth in mercury emissions with 1.32 tons and sixth in carbon dioxide emissions with 68,207,317 tons, based on 2000 data submitted to federal officials.

        Last month, President Bush announced a market-based power plant proposal to reduce nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions up to 70 percent.

        But environmentalists argue that power plants, especially older coal-burners like those operated by Cinergy, will have to cut less pollution under Mr. Bush's plan than is projected under various EPA regulations that already exist or about to be issued under the Clean Air Act.

        Mr. Bush also unveiled his alternative to the Kyoto accord on global warming. Called Climate Leaders, the Bush program asks private industry to voluntarily take steps to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases. The administration thinks that the effort will reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 18 percent during the next decade.

        Cinergy is one of 11 corporations signing on as a charter member of the Climate Leaders program, which includes other companies such as General Motors, Miller Brewing Co. and Lockheed Martin.

        The companies commit to measuring their carbon dioxide emissions and are negotiating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to find ways to reduce their rate of future emissions.

        Mr. Bush's emission-reduction plan counters a bill by U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords, an independent from Vermont, that would require stiffer cuts in the three air pollutants and embrace the carbon dioxide reductions envisioned by the Kyoto pact already rejected by Mr. Bush.

        The debate on the bill comes amid controversy over the Bush administration's handling of lawsuits over violations of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review provisions. The suits were filed against Cinergy and several other utilities by the Clinton administration.

        Although Cinergy agreed more than a year ago to a tentative settlement, the final agreement is still in limbo. Environmental groups and others say the final settlement has been undercut by the administration's decision to back away from tougher enforcement.

        Mr. Rogers said there is no connection between Cinergy's decision to support the administration's Climate Leaders program and the unresolved litigation.

        “This was a separate decision we made independent of that,” he said. “But we do believe that the whole concept of New Source Review is muted if you have more stringent reduction targets for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury.”

        Cinergy, which generates almost all of its electricity from coal, produces roughly two tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of coal it burns in its plants.

        Unlike pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which can be reduced by installing expensive removal systems on power plants, Mr. Rogers said, “There's nothing we can put on our plants that will reduce carbon dioxide.”

        Until new technology develops a solution, Cinergy and other coal-burning utilities will have to turn to other strategies to deal with carbon dioxide emissions.

        That includes burning less coal by switching to other fuels such as natural gas and planting more trees to absorb the additional carbon dioxide.

        In the last several years, Cinergy has signed agreements with groups such as the Nature Conservancy to finance the planting of almost 3.5 million trees.

        Environmental groups have roundly blasted the president's proposal as inadequate.

        “I don't fault companies like Cinergy for participating” in the Climate Leaders program, said Kurt Waltzer, clean air program manager for the Ohio Environmental Council. “The problem is the president's plan will have no impact on global warming.”

        He said the Bush plan will only slow the growth in greenhouse gases, not actually reduce them.

        A lot of questions remain about the causes and effects of global warming, but Mr. Rogers said, “The reason we signed up is we felt we should be leading on this rather than following. And we wanted to shape the future around this issue.”

        The greenhouse gases program is essentially separate from the debate over new multipollution legislation, but Mr. Rogers said Cinergy sees little risk in attempting to deal with the issue.

        At the same time, he said that by agreeing to deal with greenhouse gases and reaching a compromise on a multipollution bill, Cinergy hopes to obtain clarity over its future environmental costs.

        “I'm fighting for certainty. And in exchange for certainty, I'd agree to greater reductions at my plants,” he said.

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