Pollution control improvements will cost Allegheny Energy Inc. more than expected, the company said today.

The cost of installing flue gas desulfurization equipment, or scrubbers, at the company´s Fort Martin and Hatfield´s Ferry power plants will be higher than officials estimated. Company officials expected to spend around $330 million at the Fort Martin plant but revised that figure to $500 to $550 million. The original estimate at Hatfield´s Ferry was $550 million but the company has raised that to $650 million.

A number of factors led to the increase, including site-specific construction challenges, necessary changes in material handling equipment and higher material costs, according to the company.

The projects will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions at the coal-fired plants by about 95 percent, or about 237,000 tons per year. The 1,107-megawatt Fort Martin plant is located in Maidsville, W.Va., and the 1,710-megawatt Hatfield´s Ferry plant is in Masontown, Pa.

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