Court: IURC erred in approving Duke fee hike

National News

The Indiana Court of Appeals has determined that state utility regulators wrongly approved $61 million in ratepayer fees for the Edwardsport coal gasification plant.

Duke Energy is seeking the money to cover construction costs for the new plant. But Appeals Court Judge James Kirsch wrote in an opinion issued Monday that members of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission should have better analyzed arguments from Duke Energy and plant opponents before approving the fee increase.


Duke officials have said a three-month delay led to increased project costs. But opponents led by the Citizens Action Coalition have argued that IURC regulators have been "rubber-stamping" fees and a rate hike sought by Duke.

The case is one of many surrounding the Edwardsport plant that is locked in battle inside the Indiana courts.

Related listings

  • Chris Brown due back in DC court for plea hearing

    Chris Brown due back in DC court for plea hearing

    National News 09/01/2014

    Singer Chris Brown is scheduled to appear in a District of Columbia court for what would be a third attempt at a plea deal to resolve an assault case that dates to October 2013. According to court filings, Brown was scheduled to appear in D.C. Superi...

  • Guilty plea in California meat recall case

    Guilty plea in California meat recall case

    National News 08/28/2014

    A co-owner of a Northern California slaughterhouse accused of processing cows with cancer has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that 77-year-old Robert Singleton, co-owner of Petaluma-based Rancho Feeding Corp.,...

  • Brazil's Supreme Court elects new president

    Brazil's Supreme Court elects new president

    National News 08/19/2014

    Brazil's Supreme Court has elected a new president to replace the body's first black justice, who announced his early retirement in June. Nine of the court's 10 judges elected Ricardo Lewandowski as the new chief justice Wednesday to succeed Joaquim ...

USCIS Will Begin Accepting CW-1 Petitions for Fiscal Year 2019

On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.

For the FY 2019 cap, USCIS encourages employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to six months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance. An extension petition may request a start date of Oct. 1, 2018, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date.

Since USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the number of CW-1 visas available for FY 2019, USCIS may conduct a lottery to randomly select petitions and associated beneficiaries so that the cap is not exceeded. The lottery would give employers the fairest opportunity to request workers, particularly with the possibility of mail delays from the CNMI.

USCIS will count the total number of beneficiaries in the petitions received after 10 business days to determine if a lottery is needed. If the cap is met after those initial 10 days, a lottery may still need to be conducted with only the petitions received on the last day before the cap was met. USCIS will announce when the cap is met and whether a lottery has been conducted.

Business News

Clayton, MO Federal Criminal Defense Attorney The Law Offices of John M. Lynch, LLC, provides strong representation for clients with federal criminal defense. >> read
DuPage IL worker's comp lawyers The law firm of Krol, Bongiorno & Given, Ltd. has been a leader in the field of workers’ compensation law in DuPage, Illinois. >> read