Electric utilities pay less for low-quality coal per ton delivered than for
high-quality coal. Yet more low-quality coalthan high-quality coal must be
burned to generate the same amount of electricity. Moreover, per ton of coal
burned,low-quality coal generates more ash than does high-quality coal, and
the disposal of ash is becoming more and more expensive.
The considerations above, if true, most strongly support which of
the following claims?
(A) A coal-burning utility might not be assured of benefiting economically
by always adhering to the policy of keeping its overall coal purchasing
costs as low as possible.
(B) In those regions where the cost of disposing of coal ash is negligible,
it is more expensive for coal-burning utilities to use high-quality
coal than low-quality coal.
(C) Transportation costs represent a smaller proportion of the cost per
delivered ton for low-quality coal than for high-quality coal.
(D) It is no less expensive to dispose of a ton of coal ash that results
from the burning of high-quality coal than it is to dispose of a ton of
coal ash that results from the burning of low-quality coal.
(E) In regions where coal-ash disposal is the least expensive, reserves of
low-quality coal are likely to decline at a faster rate than are
reserves of high-quality coal.