FERC Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mountain Valley Pipeline Seeks Late May Approval To Start Operation

The company wrote that the 303-mile project will be mechanically complete by May 22 and seeks FERC’s approval by May 23.

The builders of the Mountain Valley Pipeline are seeking federal approval to begin operations within weeks.

MVP has sought approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin operations in late May.

The company wrote that the 303-mile project will be mechanically complete by May 22 and seeks FERC’s approval by May 23.

It says its customers with long-term contracts for natural gas from the pipeline become effective on June 1.

The $7.5 billion pipeline has been delayed and cost more than projected as environmental groups and landowners challenged the project in court.

The MVP is under a consent decree with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration over a corrosion-resistant coating that may have degraded while large sections of pipe were exposed to weather during the delays.

That’s after groups challenged the safety of the exposed pipe. The company agreed to take corrective measures to eliminate any safety risk.

Various legal challenges to the pipeline’s construction ended last year when Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed, a spending agreement that approved all remaining permits.

While some opponents continue to press forward, it appears they have few options remaining before the pipeline goes into service.

The MVP has a capacity of two billion cubic feet of gas a day. It will connect north-central West Virginia with southern Virginia and open up West Virginia gas production to new markets in the mid-Atlantic.

Pumped Storage Power Project Could Be Coming To Northern W.Va.

Rye Development, of Portland, Oregon, on Thursday announced a $1.3 billion investment in a pumped storage power generation facility in Bell County, Kentucky.

An energy company that’s making a big investment in southeast Kentucky also has its sights set on northern West Virginia.

Rye Development, of Portland, Oregon, on Thursday announced a $1.3 billion investment in a pumped storage power generation facility in Bell County, Kentucky.

The same company has also applied for a preliminary permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study locating a similar facility in Hardy and Grant counties.

The proposed Cabin Run Pumped Storage project could generate up to 230 megawatts of electricity. For comparison, the largest solar facility in West Virginia generates 19 megawatts.

It works by taking electricity during off-peak hours to pump water into a reservoir. During the hours of peak demand, the water is released, generating hydroelectric power.

The U.S. Department of Energy is kicking in an $81 million grant for the Kentucky project.

Rye Development’s permit application is currently pending before the commission.

Appeals Court Again Rejects Suit Against Mountain Valley Pipeline

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Virginia landowners cannot sue developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline for taking their land through eminent domain.

A federal appeals court has again rejected a bid by Virginia landowners to challenge the construction of a natural gas pipeline.

The same court had earlier rejected the landowners’ case, but the U.S. Supreme Court sent it back for further review.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a siting certificate to the pipeline’s builders in 2017. It enabled them to use eminent domain to acquire property for the 303-mile pipeline.

The $7.2 billion project is over its original budget and past its scheduled completion. When finished in the coming months, it will transport as much as two billion cubic feet of gas a day.

Pleasants Power Station, Once Facing Closure, Now Has A New Owner

Few details of the transaction are publicly available, including the purchase price. It’s also unclear how many of the plant’s 165 employees will be retained.

The Pleasants Power Station officially has a new owner.

As of Tuesday, Quantum Pleasants has taken over the coal-burning plant in Pleasants County from ETEM, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

FERC approved the deal last week.

The plant ceased operating on June 1, and ETEM had intended to demolish it and redevelop the site.

Quantum has plans to produce graphite, a key ingredient used to make batteries. The process produces hydrogen as a byproduct, and Quantum plans to fuel the power plant with it.

Few details of the transaction are publicly available, including the purchase price. It’s also unclear how many of the plant’s 165 employees will be retained.

The 1,300-megawatt plant first came online in 1979. It could have closed several years ago, but state lawmakers and Gov. Jim Justice rescued it with a $12.5 million a year tax break.

Earlier this year, again faced with the prospect of Pleasants shutting down, state lawmakers passed resolutions to encourage Mon Power to purchase the plant.

Mon Power did examine the possibility, and initially asked the state Public Service Commission to charge ratepayers $3 million a month to keep the plant in operating condition while it studied a purchase.

By stepping in, Quantum Pleasants ensures that Mon Power ratepayers will not be on the hook for the plant.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction Can Proceed, Federal Agency Says

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has permission from federal regulators to finish the project.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed a bill to raise the nation’s borrowing limit that also approved any remaining permits needed to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

On Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized construction to resume on a segment through the Jefferson National Forest on the West Virginia-Virginia border.

It also cleared other remaining segments where the pipeline crosses waterways to proceed.

The project is a top priority for both of West Virginia’s U.S. senators, who’d made multiple attempts to include it in legislation.

Kentucky Power Customers Pay More Than Neighbors And West Virginia

Electricity from Kentucky Power is $25 higher than Wheeling Power’s West Virginia average monthly bill of $162.43. Electricity for both Wheeling Power and Kentucky Power is generated by the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville.

Kentucky Power customers pay higher average monthly bills than Wheeling Power customers, even though their power comes from the same plant.

The average monthly residential bill for Kentucky Power customers is $187.56. That’s higher than any of the state’s investor-owned or municipal power companies, or rural electric cooperatives, according to the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Kentucky Energy Profile.

It’s $50 more than Kentucky Utilities and $74 higher than Louisville Gas & Electric.

It’s $25 higher than Wheeling Power’s West Virginia average monthly bill of $162.43. Electricity for both Wheeling Power and Kentucky Power is generated by the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville.

Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power are owned by American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio.

In late 2021, AEP moved to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, a Canadian company. Late last year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the sale.

Kentucky Power serves 165,000 customers in part or all of 20 eastern Kentucky counties.

The Mitchell Plant will not produce electricity for Kentucky Power past 2028. That’s because utility regulators in each state made conflicting decisions on whether to upgrade Mitchell to operate longer. West Virginia ratepayers will pay for those upgrades. Kentucky’s will not.

Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s Attorney General and Republican nominee for governor, supported the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s decision to reject the upgrades to the Mitchell plant.