West Virginia PSC rejects call to reconsider Mitchell Power Plant decision

The Mitchell Energy Plant in Marshall County. (File Photograph)

CHARLESTON — An effort by environmental and shopper advocate teams to get the West Virginia Public Service Fee to rethink a call final yr that authorized enhancements to a number of energy crops, together with the Mitchell Energy Plant, failed.
In an order launched Thursday, the PSC affirmed two orders — one from Aug. 4, 2021, and one from Oct. 12, 2021 — when it authorized a certificates of comfort and necessity requested by Appalachian Energy and Wheeling Energy for the Mitchell Energy Plant, the John Amos Energy Plant in Putnam County, and the Mountaineer Energy Plant in Mason County.
The Oct. 12 order required the businesses to maintain the crops open till at the least 2040 and cost all operational prices to West Virginia prospects so long as prospects in Virginia and Kentucky don’t share in capability or vitality from the crops.
The extra order gave the businesses a chance to get better prices related to the order so long as these prices are discovered to be moderately or prudently incurred. It additionally required the businesses to come back earlier than the PSC once more for approval if there are any adjustments within the possession settlement for Mitchell, the Marshall County energy plant co-owned by Wheeling Energy and Kentucky Energy.
“The Fee has defined many instances that prematurely shutting down used and helpful energy crops with a few years of remaining life would require billions of {dollars} in substitute prices that will be along with the persevering with restoration of unrecovered prices already expended on these energy crops,” the PSC order acknowledged.
“We have now decided that such a plan is unreasonable and imprudent and along with the fee implications would significantly enhance West Virginia’s reliance on purchases of vitality, which we’ve got decided can be opposite to the pursuits of West Virginia prospects and the financial system of the State,” the order continued.
West Virginia Citizen Motion Group, Photo voltaic United Neighbors and Vitality Environment friendly West Virginia filed the motions asking the PSC to rethink its earlier orders, together with the PSC’s Client Advocate Division. West Virginia Vitality Customers Group and the Sierra Membership additionally filed responses to the filings.
The teams accused the PSC of cherry-picking price comparisons and never contemplating all the prices of continuous to function the facility crops, that the prices to retrofit the Mitchell plant ought to have been thought of individually, and that the PSC overstepped its statutory authority. The additionally questioned whether or not the businesses supplied sufficient discover, whether or not Wheeling Energy had the authority to retrofit Mitchell on condition that it’s co-owned with Kentucky Energy, and whether or not the October order violated constitutional rights to affordable charges.
“AEP’s West Virginia prospects will endure one other hike of their month-to-month payments, to prop up energy plant capability that serves Kentucky prospects,” stated Emmett Pepper, coverage director for Vitality Environment friendly West Virginia, in an announcement Friday. “There was no exhibiting that WV prospects will want or use the Mitchell plant’s capability — and we nonetheless don’t know the way a lot this may even price. Our state Structure ensures us an affordable electrical energy fee — these fee hikes violate that assure.”
The businesses sought a 1.5 p.c fee enhance on electrical customers to fund enhancements to the Mitchell and the opposite crops to deliver them in step with federal guidelines for wastewater, and dealing with coal ash.
The surcharge works out to 38 cents for purchasers utilizing at the least 1,000 kilowatts per 30 days. The charges, which kicked in final September, are used to cowl development prices for the enhancements.
Appalachian Energy/Wheeling Energy introduced two completely different plans to the PSC final yr: a $317 million plan to maintain all three energy crops speak in confidence to 2040, together with Mitchell. The second was a $286 million plan that will maintain the Amos and Mountaineer crops open, however wind down Mitchell by 2028. Commissioners authorized the primary plan.
Appalachian Energy/Wheeling Energy serves greater than 387,000 prospects throughout 23 counties in West Virginia.
Steven Allen Adams could be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com