Georgia counties feel pinch of declining utility stocks

ALBANY - Several counties in southwest Georgia are finding that shareholders are not the only ones getting hurt by declining utility stock prices. <br> <br> Officials in Mitchell, Irwin, Baker, Early and Tift counties are wondering if they will be able to reap rewards from proposed new electric generating plants. <br> <br> Mirant Americas Development Inc.&#39;s stock has dropped to about $5 per share from about $45 per share last year when it announced plans to build a $400 million-$600 million coal- and gas-operated plant in Mitchell County. <br> <br> The city of Albany was hoping to cash in on $1 million a year by providing Mirant with wastewater to power the Mitchell plant, which was expected to add $6 million in taxes annually to the Mitchell County coffers. <br> <br> Mirant spokesman David Payne said Wednesday that the 24 plants in the planning stages across the country, including Mitchell&#39;ss, have been put on hold indefinitely. <br> <br> ``It seemed too good to be true,&#39;&#39; said Phil Roberson, public works director for the city of Albany. ``Maybe when the economy gets better, things will change.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Duke Energy of Charlotte, N.C., which opened 11 plants in the United States this summer, backed off plans to build a plant in Tift County primarily because it was denied a zoning ordinance change. <br> <br> Duke, whose stock dropped from about $48 per share last year to about $23 per share this week, received subpoenas from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Houston office of the U.S. Attorneys office requesting information related to its trading activities. <br> <br> Regardless, Duke still has plans to construct a $200 million plant in Baker County. <br> <br> ``We have to continue to feed the demand in the U.S. for energy, no matter what,&#39;&#39; said Kate Perez, public relations manager for Duke. <br> <br> Officials at LS Power of St. Louis say plans to build plants in Irwin and Early Counties are still on. <br> <br> ``The re-evaluation of all these projects is an industry-wide phenomenon,&#39;&#39; said LS Project Manager Mark Milbourne. ``The whole perception of the industry is impacted (by Enron and other scandals) and how financing is acquired. But both projects (Early and Baker) are still on the drawing board. <br> <br> Irwin County Commission Chairman Armond Morris said his county could use the estimated $2 million a year in property tax from the proposed plant to help shore up its deficit.