The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 14

THE COURIER-JOURNAL LOUISVILLE, KY. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1992 MNFXS FIT 1 'TOIUR1 4yM After 12 years, plant is still on hot seat By FRAN JEFFRIES Business Writer One year ago the Louisville Gas Electric Co. fired up its new Trimble County Power Plant. Its opening, however, did not put to rest the controversy surrounding the plant's construction near Bedford, Ky. For 12 years critics had questioned the plant's necessity.

Now they are questioning the total amount that customers should have paid for the plant's construction. Critics say that the customers deserve up to $167 million in refunds. disagrees. The debate is before the Kentucky Court of Appeals. At the time that officials proposed building the v-; jy i I I HIGHLIGHTS OF TRIMBLE October 1978 The Kentucky Public Service Commission gives Louisville Gas Electric Co.

permission to build a power plant in Trimble County. January 1979 breaks ground at Wise's Landing near Bedford. Four units are planned; completion dates are set for the mid-1980s. The plant is later scaled back to one 495-megawatt unit. October 1985 Because of lower than expected electricity demand the PSC ordered the single unit's completion delayed; it eventually opens in 1990.

November 1987 files for $50 million rate increase that includes money for the Trimble project. July 1, 1988 PSC grants $21.9 million of the $50 million rate increase request and rules that can't charge customers for 25 percent of the plant's cost because that capacity was not needed. July 20, 1988 seeks rehearings on both the rate increase and the Trimble County ruling. April 1989 The PSC grants an additional $1 million rate increase, but reaffirms the 25 percent disallowance of the Trimble plant. May 1989 LGE appeals the PSC's order to Franklin Circuit Court.

June 1, 1989 Roger Hale takes over the reins at June 8, 1989 Hale meets with two of the three members of the PSC and proposes a settlement of the Trimble case. Oct 2, 1989 The PSC approves a settlement that provides a $2.5 million refund to customers and a reduction in charges to electric customers of $8.5 million annually by Jan. 1, 1990. February 1990 Customer advocates challenge the settlement, charging that Hale's meeting with commissioners biased the commission's judgment in reaching a settlement. Franklin Circuit Court Judge William Graham agrees, throwing out the settlement.

Dec. 23, 1990 Trimble put in commercial operation. March 1991 sells 12.12 percent of the Trimble plant to the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency in Springfield, III. Sept. 27, 1991 Graham rules that must refund to customers 25 percent of the Trimble plant's construction cost.

He orders the PSC to determine the amount of the refund. coal-fired plant along the Ohio River in 1979, they figured that electricity demand would grow steadily i 1 among its electric i rl ers, who now number Both and the PSC appeal Sept. 30, 1991 Graham's ruling. 325,000 in 17 Kentucky counties. So proposed to the Kentucky Public Service Commission to build a four-unit, $1.3 billion plant.

The plant was slated to eventually generate 2,340 megawatts of electricity, enough to light 23.4 million, 100-watt light bulbs. "At the time that the decisions had to be made, and based on information available to us at that time, that was a good decision," said Robert L. Royer, retired president and chairman. But opponents charged then that forecast for electricity demand in the 1980s and 1990s was excessive, and that the plant was not needed. As it turned out, the critics were more on target.

By the 1980s demand for additional electricity slowed because of oil shortages, conservation efforts and recessions that forced industries that use electricity to reduce or shut operations. "Nobody knew that the demand would slack off the way it did," said William Thurman, an senior vice president who retired in 1982. "It was a time of shift in demand and it wasn't recognized completely, if at all." Plans for the plant were scaled back from four units to one unit. Even that unit was delayed from the original 1985 completion date to December 1990. At the same time that critics were challenging the size and completion date of the project, they also were questioning how it should be paid for.

There are basi- See AFTER Page 6, col. 3, this section Nov. 9, 1991 Graham orders to post a $167 million bond before it can legally appeal his Sept. 27 ruling. Customer advocates say that figure represents the refund amount; says it doesn't.

Dec. 14, 1991 The Kentucky Appeals Court in Frankfort rules does not have to post the bond. Dec. 17, 1991 The PSC orders to provide documentation so that it can determine the amount of the refund (25 percent of the plant's construction cost). Sets Feb.

27 hearing on the matter. December 1991 sells 12.88 percent of the plant's power to Indiana Municipal Power Agency through a long-term contract; the agency also has an option to buy that percentage of the plant. STAFF PHOTO BY LARRY SPITZER Having traveled a bumpy road, the Trimble County Power Plant's journey Is not yet complete. MEMOS expand Standiford Field. Airport officials hope to have the Forge land cleared by 1994 but their efforts to acquire it are stalled in court.

Peyton said last week there have been no new talks and no new offers. Ric Manning Forging ahead With President Bush in Japan talking trade issues last week, ABC's Nightline program wanted to feature an American company in the auto industry that wasn't getting kicked around by the Japanese. It found one in Louisville Forge Gear Works Inc. In a taped interview, Forge President James Peyton told how his company landed a deal to sell crankshafts to Toyota Motor Corp. for its Camry plant in Georgetown.

Now Toyota is shipping Louisville-made crankshafts back to Japan. And Peyton said Louisville Forge is expanding its Mr. or Ms. Rotten Each year, 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, lists its examples of the worst bosses. Among the recent winners is an employer who follows workers to the bathroom to make sure they don't waste time.

And in 1990, our own Managing People columnists, Frank Kuzmits and Lyle Sussman, sought local nominations, finding five major examples, including the retail store manager who forced his employees back to work despite the imminent threat of tornadoes. Now Michael Montefusco, president of Executive Career Dynamics, a North Palm Beach, consulting firm, has some suggestions that can raise being a rotten boss to an art form. ESSSSS fnOfOAl 1 AN SlAFF PMUlO bY MlOhAtl HAYMAN 4 Some light banking How can you tell a Taco Bell from a bank? Only one has neon lights, right? Not so in Fern Creek, where the First National Bank of Louisville branch at 6720 Bardstown Road is adorned with three bands of neon lights that shine every night from dark until about midnight. "It's a test," said Leslie London, senior vice president and retail manager for First National Bank of Louisville. "We wanted to use neon to depict a more featuristic, modern look, like non-bank retailers." The branch, which opened in 1989 in the new Cedar Springs shopping center, is just a flicker away from the Gene Snyder Freeway and the new Glenmary subdivision.

"Citizens Fidelity and the Bank of Louisville are also there," London said. "If we look like everybody else, how would we get attention? In a competitive market, this makes us stand out. "You can't do this in a residential area, but in a shopping center, it's ideal." So far, London said, the reaction to the neon lights has been "neither positive nor negative. The jury's still out." He said the bank probably will give the test another year before deciding whether to expand the concept or turn the lights out altogether. Did someone order a Burrito and money order to go? Ken Berzof f-CVl- Seeing white Timothy's, the Louisville restaurant where white chili was invented, is following the lead of another Kentucky culinary treat, Derby Pie.

The restaurant has asked the Federal Trade Commission to approve a trademark for the chili that was first made by former owner Timothy Barnes with chicken, navy beans and green chilis. The hearty dish spiced with cumin, a dash of cloves and cayenne and topped with cheese, sour cream and salsa has been written about in Bon Appetit. And ask anyone who's tasted it; it's delicious. Barnes, an Owensboro native known for his creative menus at J. Timothy's, the Mayflower Hotel and Myra's, died in May 1990.

But Charles and Shayne Zanetis, the new owners of Timothy's, recognized the popularity of the dish and sought the trademark to require other restaurants to use the trademark when they put white chili on their menus. Timothy's Chef Edward Fordyce said the white chili remains a strong favorite with customers. The restaurant serves as much as 30 gallons of it a week, he said, compared to about 10 gallons of standard chili made with kidney beans and beef. Judith Egerton A i fw0T I With his tongue planted firmly in cheek, Montefusco lists these seven easy steps for becoming a bad supervisor: Write memos that confound even your most clever employees. Dress to distress.

Dressing too casually can help confuse workers about just who the supervisor is. Be rude, insensitive and unresponsive to employees on the phone. Expect workers to be mind readers. The less information shared with employees the better. Change your mind often and without explanation.

Pretend to listen while actually thinking about something else. Always shift blame for failures to others. Michael J. Upsall ilMtl- rhUlU bf KLIIht WILLIAMS Jim Peyton, owner of Louisville Forge Gear Works Inc. exports to France and Canada and will export to Mexico for the first time this year.

"1992 looks like another record year," Peyton said last week. Ironically, Peyton's biggest business threat comes not from the Japanese but from his neighbor. The Louisville and Jefferson County Regional Airport Authority wants to buy the Forge property to Cola contenders "Ain't nothin' like the real thing, or is there? Continental Cola, a soft drink which began appearing in Sam's wholesale clubs in the Louisville area last August, is packaged and sort of tastes like Coca-Cola. Sam's contends it isn't out to compete with either Coke or Pepsi, But its soft drink is being sold for $3.99 a case, compared to over $6 a case for the two leading brands. Coca-Cola spokesman Randy Donaldson said his company is aware of the new product and is closely monitoring it.

Pepsi is watching it, too. Nationwide, over 400 private label soft drinks account for about 10 percent of the market, industry observers say. Sam's would not disclose sales of Continental Cola but said the soft drink has been received remarkably well by club members. David Walton INSIDE Employer's wife Money Maze Small Business. Calendar, 1 A computer ready to use '-r 1 In Online, Pag 7 THE BOTTOM LINE They're everywhere foreign automobiles, that Is.

In 1975, 1 9 percent of all Americans who owned cars had foreign models. By last year, the figure had increased to 32 percent. Source, The Ftopw Ofjwiizatton getting in the way WmP' .5 .7 :7 .5 .6 .6 .7 Energy Bank Data Bank Insider Trading People In Managing People, Page 7 if.