Mercury reductions drive up electric rates

As I, and 300,000 of my closest friends wait for PSNH to restore power following the ice storm , Tom Fahey reports in the Union Leader that a ratepayers' group is going back to court to get out from under recent environmental regulations that are driving rates higher than anticipated:

A group of commercial ratepayers filed a state Supreme Court appeal yesterday aimed at requiring the Public Utilities Commission to review the cost of mercury reduction equipment at the state's largest coal-fired power plant.

The work at Public Service of New Hampshire's plant in Bow was supposed to cost $250 million when a law mandating it passed in 2007. Since then the price has nearly doubled, to $457 million. When finished, the work will cut mercury emissions by 80 percent.