Tag: Coal

PSC Gives Longview Power Extension For Gas, Solar Projects

Longview Power, which operates a coal-burning plant near the Pennsylvania border, applied to the PSC in 2020 for a siting certificate to build a gas plant and solar facility.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has granted an extension to Longview Power to build a natural gas plant and a solar facility in Monongalia County.

Longview Power, which operates a coal-burning plant near the Pennsylvania border, applied to the PSC in 2020 for a siting certificate to build a gas plant and solar facility.

Construction on the project was to have begun by April 2025, but Longview now says the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the US in 2020, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and supply chain disruptions have made that difficult to achieve.

On Tuesday, the PSC granted an extension for Longview to begin construction by April 2029 and to complete the project by April 2034.

Longview plans to build a 1,200-megawatt combined-cycle gas plant, alongside a 70-megawatt solar facility that straddles the state border.

Longview is an independent power producer that supplies electricity to the PJM regional grid.

Longview’s coal plant is adjacent to Mon Power’s Fort Martin Power Station, which includes a coal plant and a solar facility.

Mon Power’s Fort Martin solar facility began operating in January and is the state’s largest. The coal plant is scheduled to retire in 2034.

Infrastructure Law’s Mine Reclamation Funds To Continue

Under the infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden, West Virginia will receive an extra $140 million a year over 15 years for mine reclamation projects.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act became law three years ago this month. It includes extra help for states to clean up abandoned mine lands.

Sharon Buccino is the principal deputy director of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, or OSMRE.

Under the infrastructure law signed by President Joe Biden, West Virginia will receive an extra $140 million a year over 15 years for mine reclamation projects.

A new administration will take office in January. Buccino says the funding will continue to come to West Virginia and other states, unless Congress decides to change that.

“Congress could subsequently act to undo or change what they did previously,” she said, “but until they do that, the direction and the money has already been provided to OSMRE to implement the laws that exist now.”

West Virginia alone has 173,000 acres of mine land that was abandoned before 1977. Only one state, Pennsylvania has more. The Abandoned Mine Land program, or AML, helps clean up the pollution from those sites, eliminates threats to public safety and restores the land for productive use, often recreation.

It also helps create jobs for workers displaced from coal mining.

Buccino cites another purpose for AML projects: Finding the raw materials needed to build batteries.

“It’s acid mine drainage treatment, where actually the acid mine drainage is being mined for potential critical mineral recovery,” she said. “So that’s Deckers Creek near Morgantown, West Virginia, the Richard Mine acid mine drainage.”

Buccino says the AML program helps communities diversify their economies in a way that makes most sense for them.

“The beauty of the program is that it doesn’t force a certain transition,” she said, “but it gives the resources and support to communities to define that transition and to define that future for themselves, and then actually there’s money available to deliver on that vision.

If nothing changes, West Virginia and other states will continue to receive the infrastructure law’s supplemental AML funding for another 12 years.

State Justices Issue Split Ruling In Appalachian Power Case

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the PSC’s January conclusion that Appalachian Power mismanaged its fuel supplies in 2021 and 2022. 

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled in an Appalachian Power lawsuit against the Public Service Commission.

The state Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the PSC’s January conclusion that Appalachian Power mismanaged its fuel supplies in 2021 and 2022. However, it also threw out the PSC’s decision to punish Appalachian Power for its fuel management practices.

The price of coal rose dramatically during that time as the economy recovered from COVID-19 and after Russia invaded Ukraine. Appalachian Power’s plants ran short on coal supplies.

The company tried to pass on the higher costs of coal to electricity consumers. The PSC approved the recovery of more than $300 million in January, but disallowed more than $200 million. Appalachian Power then sued.

The court threw out the PSC’s disallowance and sent that matter back to the commissioners for further review. It is not yet clear how the court’s ruling will affect electricity customers.

Appalachian Power recently tried again to seek PSC approval for a base rate increase. Its previous application was dismissed.

Judge Holds Lexington Coal In Contempt Over Mine Pollution

Chambers ordered Lexington Coal to pay a $50,000 fine and to establish a $100,000 fund for the purpose of complying with the court’s orders and set December deadlines for both.

“Defendant Lexington Coal’s disrespect for the environment and this Court’s orders has permeated every stage of this litigation.”

That’s what U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers wrote in a Thursday opinion holding the company in contempt for the third time since 2021 over pollution from mines in Mingo County.

He ordered Lexington Coal to pay a $50,000 fine and to establish a $100,000 fund for the purpose of complying with the court’s orders and set December deadlines for both.

In 2021, Chambers ruled that the company had violated the Clean Water Act and federal mine reclamation law and held it in contempt in 2022 and 2023 for its failure to make progress on fixing the problems.

Lexington Coal is owned by Jeremy Hoops, the son of Jeff Hoops, the former CEO of Blackjewel, which filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and left hundreds of miners unpaid. 

PSC Lawyers Ask Court For Dismissal Of Sierra Club Lawsuit

Lawyers for PSC Commissioners Charlotte Lane, Bill Raney and Renee Larrick say the Sierra Club lacks standing to sue the commission over a 2021 directive affecting Appalachian Power coal plants.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit by the Sierra Club.

Lawyers for PSC Commissioners Charlotte Lane, Bill Raney and Renee Larrick say the Sierra Club lacks standing to sue the commission over a 2021 directive affecting Appalachian Power coal plants.

The Sierra Club alleges that the directive, which binds Appalachian Power to operate the plants 69 percent of the time, higher than they or most other plants actually do, has led to an increase in raised rates for West Virginia electricity customers.

The commissioners’ lawyers on Monday asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia to dismiss the case, filed in August by the Sierra Club on behalf of two members, Bruce Perrone and Rosanna Long. 

They say the connection between the directive and rates cannot be proved. 

While the PSC has sought a dismissal of the case, Appalachian Power has moved to become involved in the lawsuit, according to court filings. A trial would not take place for another year.

In a separate case in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, Appalachian Power is challenging the PSC’s January ruling that denied the company the recovery of a portion of its $550 million fuel balance incurred in 2021 and 2022 when the price of coal soared.

A decision is expected sometime in the coming weeks.

Appalachian Power has also refiled its base rate case with the PSC, offering a 4 percent increase that would be pay off bonds over the course of 20 years. That’s the alternative to the double-digit rate increase the company originally proposed.

Appalachian Power Again Seeks Rate Increase From State Regulators

Instead of the roughly 17 percent increase it had previously sought, it is proposing instead to spread out the cost over time through securitization, resulting in a smaller 4 percent increase.

Appalachian Power has filed a new case with state regulators asking for a rate increase.

Instead of the roughly 17 percent increase it had previously sought, it is proposing instead to spread out the cost over time through securitization, resulting in a smaller 4 percent increase.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission dismissed the company’s earlier rate filing amid a torrent of opposition from residents, local officials and school districts concerned about the rising cost of their bills.

“Without leveraging the 2023 securitization legislation, traditional recovery of our investments would add to the burden some of our customers already face due to rising inflation and costs across many industries,” said Aaron Walker, Appalachian Power’s president and operating chief.

Securitization involves buying bonds that would be paid off over a period of years. The term for the proposal would be 20 years, according to the company.

The company said a more traditional approach to its filing would result in a 13.5 percent monthly increase for most electricity customers, or almost $24.

The securitization method would reduce that amount to $6.72 for a customer who uses 1,000 kilowatts a month. The company would also implement a program to stabilize rates.

Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power have 460,000 customers in 25 West Virginia counties.

The PSC has approved other, smaller increases in recent months, including costs for environmental compliance, vegetation management and the coal used to produce electricity.

Amid the rising cost of using coal and pending regulations to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, Appalachian Power has told regulators in Virginia that it could convert its Amos and Mountaineer plants in West Virginia to burn gas instead of coal.

The plants serve electricity customers in both states. Unlike West Virginia, Virginia has pivoted sharply away from coal, embracing gas and renewables. 

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