Ohio Supreme Court Delivers Blow To AEP In Coal Ruling

The Ohio Supreme Court has sided with state utility regulators in a dispute with American Electric Power over how much the company can charge customers for coal. The court, in a unanimous ruling Wednesday, rejected AEP's contention that it should have been able to keep $71.6 million that it received related to a coal contract in 2009. AEP disagreed with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio about how much of the money should be credited to consumers. The commission allowed AEP to keep some, but not all, of the $71.6 million. An AEP spokeswoman says the company is "disappointed" with the decision. The Columbus-based utility has about 1.5 million customers in Ohio.