CAROLINA POWER &lt;CPL> CANCELS GENERATING UNIT

  Carolina Power and Light Co said
  its board has decided to cancel coal-fired Mayo Unit Two, the
  second unit planned for its Mayo Plant in Person County, N.C.
      The company said the 690,000 kilowatt unit was only about
  one pct complete and was scheduled for commercial service in
  1992.
      Carolina Power said the status of the unit had been under
  review because of a decision by the North Carolina
  Environmental Management Commission that would have required
  the unit to be equipped with expensive sulphur dioxide-removing
  scrubbers.
      Carolina Power said Unit One, which has been in operation
  since 1983, meets all air quality regulations without scrubbers
  through the use of low-sulphur coal, and "The addition of
  scrubbers to Mayo Unit Two would have produced only marginal
  air quality improvements."
      The company said it will be able to purchase lower-cost
  power from Duke Power Co &lt;DUK> for intermediate and peaking
  purposes than the projected cost of power from Mayo Two with
  scrubbers.  It said it will retain the Mayo Two site for later
  development of a generating unit.
      Carolina Power said Mayo Two was projected to cost about
  877 mln dlrs, including 200 mln dlrs for scrubbers.  "The
  higher construction costs, plus higher operating costs, would
  increase the cost of power produced by Mayo Unit Two with
  scrubbers by about 90 mln dlrs per year."
      A company spokesman said the company has already spent
  about 23 mln dlrs on Mayo Two. He said no estimate has yet been
  made of the cost of canceling the plant, but the company does
  not expect to take a charge against earnings.  He said Carolina
  Power intends to include the cancellation costs in rate filings
  it will make late this year or early next year.
  

