Tag: FERC

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 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.

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.

Pleasants Power Station Remains In Limbo As Shutdown Date Approaches

Mon Power is currently negotiating with the plant’s owner to keep it in operating condition and its employees on the payroll.

The Pleasants Power Station will be deactivated as scheduled on June 1, according to an update from the PJM regional grid operator.

West Virginia lawmakers and officials in Pleasants County have pushed to spare the plant from closing. Mon Power is currently negotiating with the plant’s owner to keep it in operating condition and its employees on the payroll.

Mon Power is supposed to report to the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) in the coming days on how those negotiations are going.

If an agreement is reached, Mon Power will charge ratepayers $3 million a month to keep the plant in standby, but it will produce no electricity. The company will proceed with a thorough evaluation of purchasing the plant and operating it.

In its PSC testimony, Mon Power has said it does not intend to operate three power plants in West Virginia. It already has two – the Harrison and Fort Martin power stations.

Environmental and consumer groups, as well as the state’s leading manufacturers, have argued that Mon Power does not need Pleasants. They’ve also said the PSC lacks the authority to approve the monthly surcharge.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) forecasts that PJM, which includes West Virginia and 12 other states, will be able to meet this summer’s electricity demand without Pleasants.”

“Pleasants is not really necessary for reliability purposes this summer,” said Emmett Pepper, policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia. “It’s also questionable that Pleasants would be necessary for reliability in the long term.”

The 1,300 megawatt plant on the Ohio River could have shut down years sooner, but the state legislature and Gov. Jim Justice gave it a $12.5 million annual tax break that saved it in 2019.

The $36 million annual surcharge Mon Power proposed is three times the amount of the tax break.

Lawmakers passed resolutions in both chambers encouraging Mon Power to buy the plant. Mon Power planned to purchase Pleasants in 2017. The PSC approved the sale, but FERC rejected it.

Coal has become far less competitive in the electric power marketplace. It now generates less than 20 percent of electricity nationwide, though in West Virginia, around 90 percent of power still comes from coal.

Natural gas is currently the dominant fuel for U.S. electricity, but renewables account for an increasing share. Recently, renewable sources surpassed both coal and nuclear power.

With 65 million power customers, PJM is the nation’s largest electric grid operator.

Those who support the continued operation of Pleasants point to December’s deep freeze as a reason to keep it on the grid. Unlike many coal plants, it was producing power during the storm.

Still, the outages PJM experienced during Winter Storm Elliott were mostly at natural gas and coal facilities. Ultimately, no rolling blackouts were required in PJM’s 13-state territory.

Granholm Letter Supports Fast Approvals For Mountain Valley Pipeline

The 300-mile pipeline would transport 2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from northern West Virginia to the mid-Atlantic.

A natural gas pipeline under construction in Appalachia got the thumbs up from a Biden administration official.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week in support of fast approval on any further action on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The 300-mile pipeline would transport 2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from northern West Virginia to the mid-Atlantic.

It’s currently held up in federal court. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down some key permits, though a recent decision from the U.S. Forest Service could enable the pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest.

Environmental groups oppose the pipeline because of its impact on rivers and streams, as well as the planet-warming emissions from producing and consuming the fossil fuel.

In her letter, Granholm said the pipeline could play an important role in the clean energy transition as well as support reliability in the electric grid.

“As extreme weather events continue to strain the U.S. energy system, adequate pipeline and transmission capacity is critical to maintaining energy reliability, availability, and security,” she wrote.

The pipeline is a top-ticket item for state leaders, including Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va.. In addition to environmental groups, the West Virginia Coal Association opposes the pipeline.

If the pipeline is completed, Duke Energy plans to switch from coal to natural gas at its power plants in North Carolina. Much of the coal they currently use comes from West Virginia.

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