{Louisville, Kentucky}...Wednesday, Kentucky Power Co. filed a motion with the state's Public Service Commission to withdraw a $940 million plan for upgrades at its 800-megawatt Big Sandy No. 2 plant near Louisa. It had planned to build a scrubber by 2016 in order to meet federal environmental guidelines. The upgrade at the early 1960s-era plant would have increased the average customer's bill by $31 a month. After the utility applied to install the scrubber in December, environmental groups, including Earth Justice and the Sierra Club, argued that there were cheaper alternatives to installing expensive coal pollution controls, including burning natural gas. The groups said Wednesday that the best option would be to close the Big Sandy plant. Kentucky Power has 173,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties.
