Monongahela Power Company Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

PSC Seeks Public Comment In Rate Increase Case

State regulators are encouraging public comments through January on a more than $200 million rate increase proposal filed by Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison.

The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has set aside three days for hearings on the companies’ proposed 15 percent increase in residential rates, commonly called base rates.

If approved by the commission, the average retail customer would see an increase of more than $18 in monthly rates, while the overall rate increase being sought by the companies is 13 percent.

“We encourage and actively seek comments from those affected by any rate increase pending before the commission,” PSC Chairman Charlotte R. Lane said. “But these larger cases seem to attract more notice than smaller cases.”

Both companies recently announced they will give customers a one-time fixed bill credit on their 2024 July bill after a PSC audit revealed financial misconduct and called for greater accountability of lobbying expenses and better record keeping.

An evidentiary hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 24 at the PSC headquarters at 201 Brooks St., Charleston. The case was filed May 31, 2023.

Public comments can be filed by email on the Commission’s website, or they may be mailed to the PSC. Reference Case No. 23-0460-E-42T in your comments.

Written comments should be addressed to Karen Buckley, executive secretary, 201 Brooks St., Charleston, WV, 25323.
More information on this case can be found on the PSC website: www.psc.state.wv.us. Click on “Case Information” and access Case No. 23-0460-E-42T.

Mon, PE Power Customers To Receive Credit For Misused Funds

Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison company customers will receive a one-time fixed bill credit on their 2024 July bill.

The company’s combined 800,000 customers will receive a part of the $2.5 million dollar credit. An audit ordered by state regulators into the operations of the power companies revealed financial misconduct and called for greater accountability of lobbying expenses and better record keeping.

The audit followed both companies’ requests for a rate increase.

An accounting firm hired by the Public Service Commision to investigate the two power companies recommended further investigations into millions of dollars in fuel procurement and management consulting and suggested further reviews elsewhere.
Both companies are a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation which paid a $230 million fine in 2021 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement for its role in a bribery scheme.

April 27, 1978: Willow Island Disaster Leaves 51 Men Dead

On April 27, 1978, a disaster at Willow Island in Pleasants County left 51 men dead.

The workers were building a cooling tower at the Monongahela Power Company’s Pleasants Power Station. They were working on scaffolding 168 feet above the ground when it plunged to the ground. Most of the 51 victims were local construction workers. One unfortunate family lost four of five sons, a brother, two brothers-in-law, and three nephews.

The scaffolding failed because the concrete holding it hadn’t been given enough time to cure. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied fines against three construction companies. A federal grand jury heard evidence in the case but returned no indictments.

Willow Island was the worst non-mining disaster in West Virginia history and one of the deadliest construction accidents in U.S. history. It also was another in a string of tragedies that had plagued West Virginia for more than a decade. In just over 10 years, the national media repeatedly returned to West Virginia to cover tragedies like the Silver Bridge collapse, Farmington mine disaster, Marshall football team plane crash, Buffalo Creek Flood, and Willow Island.

Two Groups Oppose Sale of West Virginia Coal-Fired Plant

Environmental advocates are urging West Virginia’s Public Service Commission to reject two power companies’ proposal to pay $195 million for a 37-year-old coal-fired power plant, saying it will saddle 530,000 ratepayers with the expenses and market risks.

Monongahela Power Co. and Potomac Edison Co. this year proposed purchasing the 1,300-megawatt-capacity plant along the Ohio River near Belmont from Allegheny Energy Supply.

They called it “the least-cost source to meet a steadily increasing capacity shortfall” in the utilities’ service areas that would initially cut average ratepayer bills by about $12 annually.

In a brief to the commission, West Virginia Citizen Action Group and West Virginia Solar United Neighborhoods say the sale among FirstEnergy Corp. entities mainly shifts risks and costs from the corporation to customers whose rates would rise later.

Hearings in September on West Virginia Power Station Plan

The public will have a chance to comment on two power companies’ proposal to purchase the Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia from Allegheny Energy Supply.

The Public Service Commission is holding three hearings next month. The first will be Sept. 6 in Parkersburg, followed by Sept. 11 in Martinsburg and Sept. 12 in Morgantown. An evidentiary hearing on the $195 million deal will be Sept. 26 to 28 in Charleston.

Monongahela Power Co. and the Potomac Edison Co. propose purchasing the coal-fired plant, which is located on the Ohio River near Belmont, northeast of Parkersburg.