MVCAC August 2013

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Longview Power is likely to declare bankruptcy
by Andrew Liebhold 01 Sep '13

01 Sep '13

Surprisingly (OK, maybe it's not surprising!), the local newspaper has not reported that Longview Power has been in an increasingly tight financial squeeze in part due to operational problems at the power plant (apparently they have a serious boiler leak among other problems) and also in part due to the low market prices for electrical power. I'm attaching a recent article from a trade journal that reports on their woes, indicating that they are likely to file for a "package bankruptcy" this fall. I have several other articles that have appeared earlier about Longview's growing financial troubles and could send them to anybody who is interested. As much as the folks at GenPower and elsewhere might like to blame their problems on "Obama's war on coal", it strikes me that their problems can pretty much be attributed to the lack of foresight by Longview investors in selecting coal as a fuel and errors made by the engineers who designed and built it... -Sandy Liebhold

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Good Article on the Longview Bankrupcy
by Duane 31 Aug '13

31 Aug '13

DOMINION POST Longview filing for bankruptcy Judge must approve reorganization plans BY BEN CONLEY AND ALEX LANG The Dominion Post, August 31, 2013 The company overseeing Longview Power Plant has filed for bankruptcy, but will be allowed to reorganize its business. The filing was done Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Longview Intermediate Holdings C, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 11, a business can develop a reorganization plan, which must be approved by a judge. Longview Power Plant recently opened and began operations in Maidsville. The power plant is a 700 megawatt supercritical coal-fired power facility and one of the most efficient, with lowest air emissions in the country, according to a company news release. The company lists more than a billion dollars in both assets and liabilities in the filing. According to the filing, the company estimates it will pay back unsecured creditors. The unsecured creditors are the last group to receive money in Chapter 11. Unsecured debtors are not guaranteed to receive their full claims. Included in the filing is a list of the top 50 unsecured debtors. The largest unsecured debtor is CONSOL, with a claim amount of nearly $800,000. The Monongalia County Sheriff ’s Tax Office is the third highest, with a claim of about $310,000. Mon County entered into a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) agreement with Longview in 2008, which set up a series of annual payments to be paid to the county instead of paying actual property taxes. The payments were scheduled over the next 30 years, increasing annually. Monongalia County Commissioner Bill Bartolo said representatives of Longview contacted the commission office Friday morning to confirm the bankruptcy filing. “There was a rumor floating around,” Bartolo said. “They claim it will not impact the payment in lieu of taxes. Of course that’s a concern because that impacts the county as well as the board of education.” The annual payments are divided between the county and the board of education, based on the levy rate set by each. Commissioner Tom Bloom said he was concerned, not only about the PILT, but also about the potential for people losing work. “Being realistic, if you’re going to have to restructure, it’s going to have to come from somewhere,” he said. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Bartolo agreed. “You can speculate about what if, but at this point, it’s just not prudent to do that.” Brickstreet Insurance is owed almost $275,000. Forquer Contracting LLC out of Pentress is owed about $142,000. GEC INC out of Bruceton Mills is owed about $120,000. JL Pretzel Contracting LLC, also out of Bruceton Mills, is owed just more than $26,000. Diggler’s Construction LLC out of Kingwood has a claim of $25,200. Several affiliates are also listed in the filing including Longview Power, LLC, Alternate Energy, LLC, Border Energy, LLC, Coresco, LLC, Dana Mining Co. of Pennsylvania, LLC, Dana Mining Co., LLC, Longview Intermediate Holdings C, LLC, Mepco Conveyor, LLC, Mepco Holdings, LLC, Mepco Intermediate Holdings A, LLC, Mepco Intermediate Holdings, LLC, Mepco, LLC and Shannopin Materials, LLC. Mepco operates three active underground coal mines and one active surface mine, according to the company. Chrysler went through the same type of bankruptcy. It filed in 2009 and continues to operate and still does business today. <<< Duane Nichols, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition >>>>>> So the truck traffic on Ft. Martin Road will continue for some time to come, Dunkard Creek may never be cleaned up, and coal waste and ash will continue to be dumped in the headwaters of Crooked Run and Craft Run. Cooling water is coming out of the Mon River, and unknown waste streams (quantity and concentration ?) are being injected underground in Pennsylvania.

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Power company Longview & Mepco seeks bankruptcy, blames Siemens
by Duane 31 Aug '13

31 Aug '13

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/30/us-longviewpower-bankruptcy-idUSB… Power company Longview seeks bankruptcy, blames Siemens By Tom Hals and Sakthi Prasad Fri Aug 30, 2013 11:38am EDT (Reuters) - Longview Power LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday and blamed a unit of Germany's Siemens AG for glitches at Longview's $2 billion West Virginia power plant that left it unable to pay its debts. The coal-fired plant in Maidsville has a capacity to generate about 700 megawatts of electrical power and was among the largest construction projects in West Virginia's history. However, it has been plagued by construction delays and legal problems since it was proposed more than a decade ago. Longview said there will be no interruption to its business and employees will not be affected by the Chapter 11 filing. The plant was funded by a $1 billion equity investment by First Reserve Corp, a private equity firm focused on energy, and about $1 billion in debt. About $557 million in debt matures in February, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The bankruptcy filing was aimed at preventing a default on an interest payment due Friday, which in turn would have caused a default on a $59 million letter of credit. "The company has been in consensual negotiations with our senior lenders toward a Chapter 11 plan to maximize value. We remain confident that the company and our lenders will reach an agreement on the terms of a Chapter 11 plan in the near term," Chief Executive Jeffery Keffer said in a statement. The company blamed its bankruptcy primarily on what it called the failures by the contractors which built the plant, delaying its opening by nine months and limiting the plant's capacity. Siemens Energy led a team that also included units of Foster Wheeler AG and Kvaerner ASA of Norway. Siemens and Foster Wheeler did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kvaerner could not be reached for comment, but said in its annual report that construction delays were caused by changes to the project and the supply of services and materials. The legal disputes are currently before an arbitration panel, but Keffer said in court documents the company plans to seek an expedited hearing on the disputes in the bankruptcy court. The company also blamed the sharp decline in wholesale electricity prices that have caused other power producers such as Dynegy to seek bankruptcy. In addition to Longview Power, 12 affiliates also filed for bankruptcy protection, including the company's Mepco coal business which owns or operates four mines in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The mines produce about 4 million tons of coal annually, according to court records. Coal prices have been falling due to a boom in natural gas drilling. GenPower Holdings is Longview's ultimate parent. The company has engaged Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) as its investment banker and Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC as its restructuring advisor. Longview is represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, as primary restructuring counsel, and Dentons US LLP for all issues related to company's pending arbitration proceedings. The case is in re Longview Power LLC, Case No. 13-12211, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware. (Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by David Cowell and Andrew Hay) Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Longview Power article July 2013
by Duane 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Longview is short of cash . .. ...
by Duane 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

Research Update: Longview Power LLC's Rating Lowered To ?CCC-? On Likely Restructuring; Outlook Negative Published: June 2013Standard & Poors Abstract Longview Power LLC is unlikely to be able to refinance part of its senior secured debt due in February 2014 on favorable terms, and we expect it will continue to use liquidity to meet financial obligations during 2013 and into 2014. Material operational problems continue to occur and merchant power prices are likely to remain depressed. We are lowering the debt rating on Longview Power's credit facilities to 'CCC-' from 'B-', reflecting the high potential for a restructuring before the February 2014 maturity. The outlook remains negative. On June 28, 2013, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its debt rating on Longview Power LLC's senior secured credit facilities to 'CCC-' from 'B-' and kept the ratings on negative outlook. Companies mentioned in this report are: - Longview Power LLC Action: Downgraded

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House Subpoena Revives Battle Over Air Pollution Studies
by Duane 09 Aug '13

09 Aug '13

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6146/604.short ....... Link between soot in the air and death rates . .. ... Science 9 August 2013: Vol. 341 no. 6146 p. 604 DOI: 10.1126/science.341.6146.604 NEWS & ANALYSIS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY House Subpoena Revives Battle Over Air Pollution Studies Kelly Servick Chair Lamar Smith and fellow Republicans have issued the House science committee's first subpoena in 21 years, demanding that raw data from two key studies on the health effects of air pollution be made public. The same research came under attack in the late '90s, but subsequent studies have confirmed its groundbreaking findings on the link between soot in the air and death rates. Democrats call the subpoena a violation of confidentiality promised to the study participants and fear industry will misinterpret the data to undermine regulations.

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MVCAC August 2013