Coal Story Archives - Page 3 of 81 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Witness: W. Va. PSC Costing Appalachian Power Customers in Va.

A former staff member on the Virginia commission testified that Appalachian Power operates its coal plants when they can’t make money because the West Virginia PSC told it to run them more often.

According to testimony at the Virginia State Corporation Commission last month, the West Virginia Public Service Commission may be driving up customer rates in Virginia.

Two of West Virginia’s coal plants supply electricity to Virginia customers of Appalachian Power.

Gregory Abbott, a former staff member on the Virginia commission, testified on behalf of Appalachian Voices that Appalachian Power operates its coal plants when they can’t make money because the West Virginia PSC told it to run them more often.

The company is asking for a $10 a month increase in average residential bills in Virginia.

Abbott says Appalachian Power bought too much coal and is burning it when conditions are not economically justified because of the West Virginia PSC’s mandate.

Abbott recommended that the Virginia commission closely monitor Appalachian Power’s coal plant operations in West Virginia.

In January, the West Virginia PSC blocked Appalachian Power from recovering $231 million in fuel costs from ratepayers. That decision, Abbott says, puts pressure on Appalachian Power management “to take more chances and risks with ratepayer costs” in its decisions to run the plants “to avoid the possibility of future cost recovery disallowances by the WV commission.”

“In other words,” Abbott added, Appalachian Power “may take on more risks to Virginia ratepayers to avoid the risk to shareholders attendant to the WV commission order.”

Appalachian Power appealed the commission’s January order to the West Virginia Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 4.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting has asked the West Virginia PSC for comment.

In West Virginia, Appalachian Power seeks to increase average residential bills by $28 a month and also is pursuing a $2 a month increase in fuel costs.

The PSC heard the fuel cost case this week and has suspended the rate increase until next May.

An energy analyst testified to the PSC that Appalachian Power lost $87 million on its three West Virginia coal plants in a recent 12-month period. Two of those plants, John Amos and Mountaineer, supply electricity to Virginia customers.

An Appalachian Power witness told the PSC the company ran the plants at a loss to manage excess coal inventory, which he said posed a safety risk to plant workers.

PSC Suspends Appalachian Power Rate Increase Until May 2025

Appalachian Power last month asked the PSC for a 17 percent increase in base rates, an approximately $28 a month increase for the average residential electricity customer.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has delayed a proposed Appalachian Power rate increase into next year.

Appalachian Power last month asked the PSC for a 17 percent increase in base rates, an approximately $28 a month increase for the average residential electricity customer.

On Thursday, the PSC suspended any change in rates until May 2025 to further examine the company’s application.

The PSC has not granted Appalachian Power a base rate increase since 2019. It has, however, approved smaller increases since then, for environmental compliance surcharges and fuel costs, among other expenses. Those have driven up the price of power for both residential and industrial users.

The PSC case docket has been filled with public comments opposing the new rate increase, and community groups planned a protest Thursday in Charleston at Appalachian Power’s office.

The commission just this week heard testimony in a separate case that could raise monthly bills by $2. Other increases set to take effect on Sept. 1 will add about $5 to monthly bills.

Karen Wissing, an Appalachian Power spokeswoman, said the company anticipated the PSC’s suspension of the proposed rate increase.

In the fuel cost case the PSC heard this week, an Appalachian Power witness testified that the company operated its three coal plants at a loss sometimes to manage its coal inventories.

An energy analyst had previously filed written testimony that the plants lost $87 million over a recent 12-month period. The company witness said the decision was driven by worker safety.

Wind Overtakes Coal In March, April In U.S. Electricity Production

Wind alone surpassed coal for the first time in April 2023. It did so again this year, but for the first time, for two consecutive months.

Wind outpaced coal in electricity generation for two straight months in the spring.

Electricity generated from wind exceeded electricity generated from coal nationwide in March and April, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

Wind alone surpassed coal for the first time in April 2023. It did so again this year, but for the first time, for two consecutive months.

Wind and solar combined produced more electricity than coal in the first five months of the year. They did last year, too, but the gap has grown wider.

Wind and solar are forecast to overtake coal for the full year, driven by a rapid expansion of solar.

Coal’s share of electricity generation has fallen to 16 percent from 20 percent two years ago.

Two decades ago, coal generated more than 40 percent of U.S. electricity. Natural gas has largely eroded its dominance, and renewables are beginning to chip away at what remains.

Report Shows Cause Of Death For Coal Miner In Taylor County

A preliminary report from the Mine Safety And Health Administration says William J. Crandall was fatally injured while attempting to rerail a longwall electrical power car.

New details have emerged about how a coal miner was killed in Taylor County last week.

A preliminary report from the Mine Safety And Health Administration says William J. Crandall was fatally injured while attempting to rerail a longwall electrical power car.

The MSHA report says Crandall was struck in the head on Aug. 5 at the Arch Resources Tygart Valley Leer Mine and died of his injuries two days later.

Crandall, 57, had been on the job for 11 years. Crandall’s death is the third this year of a coal miner in West Virginia.

MSHA categorized Crandall’s cause of death as powered haulage, mobile mining equipment. That is a leading category for serious and fatal injuries at the nation’s mines, and not just coal.

A miner died last month in Pennsylvania in another powered haulage accident. So did 33-year-old Ashley Cogar, a truck driver who was killed last month in Wyoming County, West Virginia.

U.S. Attorneys Seek Contempt Order On Justice Coal Company

According to the court filing, Southern Coal breached the agreement and still owes nearly $600,000. The deadline for full repayment was March 1 this year.

U.S. Attorneys in Virginia have asked a federal court to find coal companies owned by the family of Gov. Jim Justice in contempt.

They filed a contempt motion in U.S. District Court in Roanoke Tuesday against Southern Coal and other companies owned by Justice.

Southern Coal had reached a settlement agreement in 2020 to pay more than $5 million in Mine Safety and Health Administration civil penalties. In exchange, the government would not seek additional interest and fees it was entitled to collect.

The deadline for full repayment was March 1 this year. According to the court filing, Southern Coal breached the agreement and still owes nearly $600,000.

The motion says the government first notified Southern Coal of delinquent payments a year ago and has done so repeatedly since.

“Despite the government’s numerous reminders about defendants’ tardy and missing payments, defendants refuse to pay,” wrote U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh. “This blatant violation warrants a finding of civil contempt.”

The case is one among many where Justice’s businesses owe vast sums of money to different creditors. The iconic Greenbrier Resort may be sold at auction later this month to settle other accumulated debts.

Witness: Safety Drove Decision To Operate Coal Plants At Loss

The written testimony of Jason Stegall, director of regulatory services for Appalachian Power parent American Electric Power, filed Monday to the West Virginia Public Service Commission, helps explain why the company may have operated the plants in recent months when it was not economically justifiable.

An Appalachian Power witness said worker safety drove the company’s decision to operate its coal plants when they couldn’t make money.

An energy analyst previously testified to the West Virginia Public Service Commission that the three coal plants lost a combined $87 million during the 12 months ending in March.

The analyst, Chelsea Hotaling, testified that Appalachian Power ran the plants when they couldn’t economically compete to reduce excess coal inventories on site.

In testimony filed Monday, Stegall said having too much coal on site threatened worker safety but offered no further details.

However, he did say that the company considers factors other than economics in deciding when to run the coal plants.

Karen Wissing, a spokeswoman for Appalachian Power, said each plant has a limit on space for storing coal as well as the slope and height of the coal pile. Maintaining those limits protects the safety of workers who load and unload coal for the plants, she said.

In a separate case, Appalachian Power is asking the PSC to raise customer rates by 17 percent.

If the PSC approves that request, the average residential electricity customer could see a monthly bill increase of more than $28.

It may be months before that case comes before the commission. Meanwhile, the PSC will hold a hearing on Aug. 12 to consider a request by Appalachian Power to cover its fuel costs.

Hotaling and Stegall have filed written testimony in that case. If approved, it would add about $2 a month for the average electricity user.

The commission last month approved Appalachian Power’s request for additional revenue to pay for environmental compliance upgrades at its three coal plants: Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell.

West Virginia electricity customers are already paying $448 million the PSC approved in 2021 for those expenses. The wastewater treatment and coal ash disposal projects will keep the plants operating past 2028.

The increase of $2.71 will take effect on Sept. 1. Also next month, Appalachian Power customers will begin paying an additional $2.50 a month for 10 years for fuel costs the company incurred in 2021 and 2022, when the price of coal spiked.

The PSC approved that increase in January, concluding a long and contentious case in which Appalachian Power sought to recover nearly $550 million in fuel costs from West Virginia customers. The PSC ultimately allowed the company to recover $331 million of those costs.

According to federal data, West Virginia’s coal fleet, including the three Appalachian Power plants, produced less electricity last year than in any year since 2001.