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The company had already announced plans to close Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 the same year, so the idle would bring the entire facility to a close.
It had reached a deal in February that would give it the option to convert the unit in Beverly to natural gas, but officials said that will no longer be part of its plan.
“Due to the cost of compliance with environmental regulations and current market conditions, AEP has determined that it is unlikely to make the capital investment to refuel the unit,” it said.
The closures will impact 95 employees, though AEP noted it would be working with its staff to provide opportunities to apply for jobs at other facilities in its portfolio.
Those not transferred will be considered for severance packages.
AEP will record a non-operating, pre-tax impairment charge for Muskingum River Unit 5 of about $150 million to $170 million in the second quarter; however, officials said it would not cut into its whole-year operating earnings guidance range of $3.05 to $3.25 per share.
Additionally, the utility said it still expected to deliver an earnings growth rate of 4% to 6% based upon its operating earnings guidance.
It is unfortunately far from the first retirement announcement AEP has made as of late. It previously announced the planned idles of 2538 megawatts of coal-fueled generation in Ohio and West Virginia by the end of 2015.
Combined with Muskingum River Unit 5, AEP Ohio's total retirements are 3123MW.
The remaining 10,725MW of AEP Ohio-owned generation, including 2427MW slated for transfer to Appalachian Power and Kentucky Power following state regulatory approvals, will be mostly made up of low-emitting, fully controlled coal-fueled plants, natural gas-fueled combined cycle and combustion turbines and a small hydro plant.
AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power in Virginia and West Virginia, AEP Appalachian Power in Tennessee, Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas.
