Muskingum River Power Plant

Muskingum River Power Plant is a major coal-fired power station, owned and operated by American Electric Power. It is on the west bank of Muskingum River, about 4mi northwest of the town of Beverly in the U.S. state of Ohio. At its peak, the plant powered three million households.Originally slated to be converted to run on natural gas, the Muskingum River Power Plant is slated to close entirely due to environmental regulations and market conditions at a cost of $150 million to $170 million. Ohio's power consumption was noted as being "flat." The original proposal called for units one through four to be shuttered by December 31, 2014 and unit five to be converted to natural gas. Approximately 95 employees will be laid off.UnitsFour out of five plant's units were among the oldest in the United States:Units 1–4 discharged their waste heat (about twice their combined electrical output) into Muskingum River.Accidents and Incidents2007 hydrogen explosionOn January 8, 2007, a hydrogen supply truck was making its routine weekly delivery of H2 gas to the station's hydrogen system, when an explosion occurred at 9:20 a.m. The truck driver was killed in the accident, and ten other people were injured. Premature failure of the pressure-relief device's rupture disc was blamed.Two civil trials in 2011, however, essentially rejected AEP's claims that rupture discs and a third party contractor were to blame. The juries determined that AEP had acted with "deliberate intent" toward its own employee, Drumand McLaughlin, and with "conscious disregard" for the rights of the truck driver, Lewis Timmons, who was killed. A total of almost $13,000,000.00 was assessed in damages as of August 29, 2011, including punitive damages to punish AEP subsidiaries Ohio Power Company and American Electric Power Service Corporation for their misconduct in failing to maintain the hydrogen systems. The companies were also to be assessed attorney's fees.