The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) heard testimony Friday from Mon Power officials about a proposal to spare the Pleasants Power Station from closure.
Mon Power officials told the commission that they need approval by next week to impose a $3 million a month surcharge on ratepayers to keep the Pleasants plant from shutting down at the end of May.
That drew pushback from the very state agency that first recommended Mon Power look at buying the plant.
Robert Williams, the director of the Consumer Advocate Division of the PSC, said ratepayers would receive no benefit for the extra cost on their bills.
“Not one ton of coal will be burned. Not one kilowatt hour of generation will be coming out of that plant,” Williams said. “They’re saying, ‘we want another year to look at this and think about it.’”
The 12-month surcharge would keep the plant’s workers on the payroll, keep the tax revenue flowing to Pleasants County and maintain the plant in operable condition.