Northern Indiana Public Service's thermal coal costs and inventory are declining and the NiSource subsidiary continues with a coal decrement strategy aimed at further burning down stockpiles at its about 1,700-MW R.M. Schahfer power plant, according to a regulatory filing.
Dennis Rackers, director of fuel supply for the Merrillville, Indiana-based company, told the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission that Nipsco's coal costs are estimated at $47.36/st or $2.359/MMBtu for the first three months of 2018.
Nipsco buys coal from Arch Coal Sales, Peabody CoalSales and Alliance Resource Partners. Rackers said the utility has not renegotiated any of its coal contracts in recent months or entered new purchase commitments.
In the three-month period that ended September 30, Nipsco's coal costs were $50.01/st or $2.431/MMBtu, a decrease of $1.34/st compared with the second quarter of 2017.
For the 12-month period ending September 30, Nipsco paid an average of $50.25/st or $2.412/MMBtu.
The utility burns about 7 million st/year of coal at its Schahfer, 600-MW Bailly and 480-MW Michigan City plants.
Bailly is scheduled to be closed in 2018 as part of Nipsco's plans to reduce its coal-fired generation by about 50%.
According to Rackers, Nipsco's coal inventory remains over its target level of 40 maximum burn days, although it has fallen somewhat in recent months.
In September, Nipsco utilized about 70% of its rail fleet capacity, parking three of its 10 coal trains. However, "based on our forecasted shipment schedule, the entire fleet should be in service during December," he said.
