The half-million customers served by East Kentucky Power Cooperative will face unnecessary rate increases if the utility moves forward with plans for a new coal-fired power plant in Clark County, environmentalists warned this week.

Activists have long criticized East Kentucky Power Cooperative for the impact of its coal-fired power plants, but now a coalition of Kentucky environmental groups is shifting its focus to the company's finances.

Abandoning the project would save East Kentucky Power, which has received state approval to raise customers' bills each of the past three years, around $500 million in long-term debt, according to a study authored for the coalition by Tom Sanzillo, who works for a New York-based public policy and financial consulting firm. .

Read the full story at kentucky.com.