Two power companies in West Virginia are describing their status on efforts to prepare promising sites for business development.

Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power filed an update with the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The two American Electric Power subsidiaries describe their efforts to support the West Virginia Business Ready Sites program, which was established in 2019.

That role is meant to be ensuring that construction-ready industrial sites are prepared with adequately developed utility infrastructure.

Mason County change

The power companies have been involved with utility infrastructure at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport Industrial Park, the Mason County Industrial Park, and the Harless Industrial Park in Mingo County.

To continue making progress, the power companies propose increasing rates already in effect for the sites program by about $2 million from June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025. If that’s approved, residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month would experience an increase in monthly bills of 24 cents.

Under the business development readiness program, the power companies in 2021 started laying groundwork for construction of electric utility infrastructure at the Mason County site.

But the power companies report reflects a change in designation of the Mason County site from a business ready program to a High Impact Industrial Business Development District instead.

The state has two of those districts where an eligible industrial plant or facility is not required to connect with or use any public utility but instead can receive electric service through generation from renewable resources located within the zone.

That location was announced in August to be the site of a Fidelis New Energy project to include a hydrogen energy project and data center facility.

After the change of designation and the announcement about Fidelis, the power companies “decided to halt the previously approved scope of work, as it is unknown what, if any, retail electric service will be necessary to serve the site and future customers of the site,” according to written testimony by Randall Short, director of regulatory services for Appalachian Power.

The power companies are seeking recovery of costs from work at the Mason County site prior to the redesignation.

“All design and construction activities have ceased in the Mason County project, and the companies no longer plan to pursue completion of this project,” testified John Mark Neal, AEP’s supervisor of distribution system planning.

Raleigh County on schedule

At the Raleigh County airport industrial park, power company officials said construction of facilities is progressing and on schedule with 95 percent of transmission line structures in place and stringing of conductor underway.

A substation pad has been established with most below grade work complete, including a ground grid and equipment foundations in place. Work on erecting steel is expected to occur in November with equipment being placed in early 2024. A substation is expected to be in service by April 5.

The projected cost for the Raleigh County airport project is $33.2 million. That’s $2.4 million less than an earlier filing indicated.

Mingo County progress

The projected cost for the Mingo County project is $22.7 million. That is $4.3 million less than projected in the original filing.

Detailed engineering for the Mingo site is just about complete. Tree clearing to establish a clean right-of-way for the transmission line, as well as the creation of access roads to structure sites will begin in January. Construction work to develop a substation site will begin in February and continue throughout the year.

Transmission line construction is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024. The projected in-service date for the substation is April, 2025.