Mitchell Power Plant Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal Data: Utilities Used Coal Plants Less In 2023, Even In W. Va.

Four of the five main power plants in the state produced less electricity in 2023 than in any year since 2001, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

Electricity output from West Virginia’s five utility owned coal fired power plants was the lowest last year in more than two decades.

Four of the five main power plants in the state produced less electricity in 2023 than in any year since 2001, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

The only plant that did not set a record low last year: Mon Power’s Harrison Power Station in Harrison County.

A decade ago, according to federal data, coal accounted for 44 percent of overall electricity generation in PJM, the nation’s biggest grid operator. In 2023, that fell to 14 percent.

The agency projects that 20 percent of PJM’s coal plants will shut down by 2028, as coal becomes less economically attractive than natural gas and renewables.

In 2021 and 2022, the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades to the five plants to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules on coal ash disposal and wastewater treatment.

While the Harrison plant operated 364 days last year, according to federal data, Appalachian Power’s Mitchell plant in Marshall County operated only 258 days.

In 2021, Kentucky’s Public Service commission declined to make Kentucky customers share the cost of the wastewater treatment upgrades at Mitchell with West Virginia customers.

In early 2022, Appalachian Power estimated the cost of retrofits to Mitchell at $148 million.

After the Kentucky PSC made its decision, the West Virginia PSC ruled that West Virginia customers would shoulder the entire sum.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Harrison, Fort Martin, Mountaineer and Amos plants are among the top coal generators in the PJM region, which includes West Virginia.

Of the five West Virginia plants, just Fort Martin and Harrison have expected retirement dates, 2035 and 2040, respectively.

Appalachian Power is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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.

AEP Calls Off Sale Of Kentucky Power To Algonquin Power

AEP had reached an agreement in late 2021 to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, based in Canada, for $2.85 billion.

American Electric Power has called off the sale of its Kentucky Power subsidiary.

AEP had reached an agreement in late 2021 to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, based in Canada, for nearly $3 billion.

Kentucky Power serves 165,000 customers in 20 Eastern Kentucky counties. The power is generated by the Mitchell plant in Moundsville, West Virginia. Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power own the plant jointly.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied approval of the sale in December.

“We are committed to our operations in Kentucky,” AEP spokeswoman Tammy Ridout said in a statement. “We have refocused our efforts on partnering with key stakeholders in Eastern Kentucky to bring opportunities to the region and support the communities we serve.”

When the Mitchell plant required tens of millions of dollars in wastewater treatment upgrades, West Virginia regulators approved the work, but Kentucky’s did not.

The upgrades were necessary to keep the plant operating beyond 2028.

Because of the conflicting decisions between the two states, Kentucky Power will not receive electricity from the plant after 2028, Ridout said.

“The existing operating agreement remains in place, and the companies will work on how to best transition ownership,” she said.

Future Of Mitchell Power Plant Becomes Campaign Issue, In Kentucky

In ads and mailers, Craft has been going after Cameron for something he recommended nearly two years ago: The state public service commission should let the power plant shut down.

Kentucky residents may have heard this political ad recently:

“Coal powers Kentucky. But coal-fired power plants are being shut down by Joe Biden, and politicians like Daniel Cameron are doing nothing to stop it. I’m supporting Kelly Craft, because she stands with Kentucky coal.”

Craft, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, are vying for the Republican nomination for governor.

In ads and mailers, Craft has been going after Cameron for something he recommended nearly two years ago: The state public service commission should let a power plant shut down.

Kentucky Power’s Mitchell plant in Moundsville, West Virginia, supplies electricity to about 165,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties.

The plant needs upgrades, paid for by ratepayers. West Virginia regulators approved them. Kentucky’s did not.

Cameron argued that the plant didn’t employ Kentucky workers or contribute to the state’s economy. He favored letting the half of Mitchell that Kentucky Power owns shutter in 2028.

Craft’s ad and mailer cite reporting by West Virginia Public Broadcasting in 2021 with its regional partner at the time, the Ohio Valley ReSource.

The mailer was printed to look like a notice of a rate increase.

In a recent tweet, Cameron said, “I’ll never stop fighting back against climate alarmists who threaten our coal and natural gas industries.”

Craft is married to Joe Craft, a coal company executive, and served in former President Donald Trump’s White House. Cameron has the endorsement of Trump, who campaigned on reviving coal.

But coal-fired power plants are shutting down, because they’ve not been competitive with natural gas, and more recently, renewables. While natural gas is the dominant fuel for producing electricity, renewables surpassed coal last year for the first time.

Mitchell is one of three West Virginia coal plants that will get new wastewater treatment systems to keep them operating beyond 2028, with ratepayers covering the cost.

Meanwhile, the Mitchell plant remains in operation while American Electric Power attempts to sell its Kentucky Power subsidiary.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the sale in December, but AEP has applied once again to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin, a Canadian company that plans to replace coal with renewables.

Craft and Cameron are among 12 Republicans in the race to challenge Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, in November. The coal issue is likely to come up in their next debate in April.

Consumer Groups Ask Feds To Weigh In On Future Of Coal Plant

Two consumer groups want federal scrutiny over a deal to save a coal-burning power plant in northern West Virginia.

The Citizen Action Group and Energy Efficient West Virginia have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to weigh in on the future of the Mitchell plant.

The plant requires a costly wastewater treatment upgrade to operate beyond 2028. Under the current plan, West Virginia utility customers will pay for it.

The two West Virginia groups want the commission to examine whether that is in the best interest of ratepayers.

The groups argue that American Electric Power has not demonstrated that it needs all of Mitchell’s capacity or justified the cost to ratepayers.

The plant, in Marshall County, is half owned by Wheeling Power and Kentucky Power, both subsidiaries of AEP. The company is in the process of selling Kentucky Power.

Last year, Kentucky regulators rejected a plan for Kentucky Power customers to contribute to the Mitchell upgrades.

West Virginia Panel OKs $550 Million Coal-Fired Power Plant Deal

State utility regulators have approved the $550 million transfer of an American Electric Power coal-fired power plant by a subsidiary.

The Public Service Commission approved a deal Tuesday that will give Wheeling Power Company a 50-percent interest in the Mitchell Power Plant. The AEP facility is located on the Ohio River.

The Connor Run Fly Ash Impoundment and Dam are not included in the transfer. They will remain under AEP’s control and ownership.

The release says the deal provides protection for Wheeling Power customers against liabilities from the fly ash impoundment.

The release says there won’t be an immediate impact on rates because of the deal.

AEP has more than 478,000 customers in West Virginia.