The West Virginia Public Service Commission heard testimony Friday from Mon Power officials about a proposal to spare the Pleasants Power Station from closure.
The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) heard testimony Friday from Mon Power officials about a proposal to spare the Pleasants Power Station from closure.
Mon Power officials told the commission that they need approval by next week to impose a $3 million a month surcharge on ratepayers to keep the Pleasants plant from shutting down at the end of May.
That drew pushback from the very state agency that first recommended Mon Power look at buying the plant.
Robert Williams, the director of the Consumer Advocate Division of the PSC, said ratepayers would receive no benefit for the extra cost on their bills.
“Not one ton of coal will be burned. Not one kilowatt hour of generation will be coming out of that plant,” Williams said. “They’re saying, ‘we want another year to look at this and think about it.’”
The 12-month surcharge would keep the plant’s workers on the payroll, keep the tax revenue flowing to Pleasants County and maintain the plant in operable condition.
Mon Power would operate Pleasants for 12 months beyond its planned shutdown at the end of May. It would recover the $3 million per month cost through a surcharge on ratepayers.
The embattled Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County could be operated, on a temporary basis, by Mon Power under a proposal the company submitted to state regulators Friday.
If the West Virginia Public Service Commission approves the plan, Mon Power would operate Pleasants for 12 months beyond its planned shutdown at the end of May. It would recover the $3 million per month cost through a surcharge on ratepayers.
According to the filing, the average residential user would pay $2.67 more each month. All categories of customers would pay roughly 2.2% more each month.
Public comments on the proposal would need to be submitted to the PSC no later than April 24.
During the 12-month interim period, Mon Power would conduct further study to see if acquiring the plant outright makes sense for the company and its customers.
State leaders, including Gov. Jim Justice and the legislature, have pushed to keep the plant open. It employs more than 150 workers and contributes to the local tax base.
Mon Power acknowledged in its filing that the plan carries short- and long-term risks.
First, the plant has no coal deliveries scheduled and is using what it has on site. Second, it has no nitrogen oxide credits past May 31, meaning it may not be able to operate all summer. If the plant closes then, its employees will be let go on July 15.
New federal regulations involving wastewater treatment and smog could challenge the ongoing operation of the plant and raise the cost to keep it running.
Critics of the proposal for Mon Power to purchase Pleasants have said it would be better to close the plant and take advantage of federal resources available to assist coal and power plant communities.
Emmett Pepper, policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia, said he’s reviewing the new proposal.
Still, he said, “Mon Power is asking for a rate increase for 12 months to subsidize this plant without taking evidence on the prudence of the rate increase, whether paying for this plant will benefit ratepayers, and whether ratepayers even need its power.”
Pleasants could have closed sooner, but Justice and lawmakers gave it a $12 million tax break in 2019 to keep in operation.
On Friday, the Senate chamber unanimously adopted a bill that would make it harder to shut down or demolish a power plant in West Virginia.
Earlier this week, the West Virginia Senate passed a resolution intended to save a power plant from closure.
On Friday, the chamber unanimously adopted a bill that would make it harder to shut down or demolish a power plant in the state.
Senate Bill 609 would require a power plant’s owner to seek permission from the state Public Energy Authority to close or tear it down.
Additionally, it would require a third party to study the economic, social and environmental impact of the plant’s elimination.
It would exempt facilities that have been closed for at least five years.
The only power plant in the state the new requirements would apply to is the Pleasants Power Station in Pleasants County. Owner Energy Harbor plans to shut it down at the end of May.
Dustin Bell, a STEAM and social studies teacher at Pleasants County Middle School, has earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Above and Beyond Award for October, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.
Dustin Bell, a STEAM and social studies teacher at Pleasants County Middle School, has earned West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Above and Beyond Award for October, which recognizes excellence and creativity of Mountain State teachers.
Bell was presented the award in front of the student body, Assistant Principal Tyrell Childers, Superintendent Mike Wells, and his wife Amanda Bell during an exhilarating pumpkin drop event organized by Bell himself. He received a monetary award and a signature Blenko Glass blue apple paperweight. The award is sponsored by the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office, presenter of the SMART529 college savings program in the Mountain State.
The pumpkin drop has been a tradition for Pleasants County Middle School for multiple years, led by Bell and two other STEAM teachers. Previously the pumpkins were dropped from the roof, and participation was limited to STEAM classes. However, in recent years, participation has opened to all students, and due to collaboration with Luminant, the experience has been amplified with a crane. Luminant representative Tim Ansell was helping with pumpkin clean up and stated that Luminant has been a partner in education for three years. They gladly help reserve the crane and donate snacks for the students.
John Armstrong
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Courtesy
The pumpkin drop has been a tradition for Pleasants County Middle School for multiple years, led by Bell and two other STEAM teachers.
The pumpkin drop is one example of many to support why Dustin Bell earned the Above and Beyond award for October. His lessons and activities are engaging, innovative, and fun for students. In Childers nomination for Bell, he listed lessons and projects that included woodworking, telegraphs, hot air balloons, and a Zombie Map. For example, to assess map skills, students are presented with a prompt that Zombies have taken over Pleasants County, and they are tasked with designing a new settlement using map skills they have learned in the classroom.
Bell also enjoys woodworking and incorporated this in his STEAM classes by teaching students the basics of working with wood and basic tools. Students are given choices of plans created by Bell, including a birdhouse, flower box, small chest, and a plant shelf. Bell feels that learning these hands-on skills is crucial for students and their future career choices or helping them in their own homes.
This year Bell is going Above and Beyond by encouraging students to be involved in the community by starting the Good Citizen Project. This project shows the importance of community service and how to be a good citizen. Some students picked up trash around their neighborhood, volunteered at the animal shelter, assisted an elderly neighbor, and one student cleaned leaves and trash out of their neighboring nursing home’s flower beds. Next year, Bell plans on coordinating with community members and organizations to provide a variety of projects students can choose from to practice being a good citizen.
Bell is passionate about his students and teaching them skills they can use for a lifetime. When asked what he loves most about his job, he said his students are what he loves most. “Seeing students out in public, having them come to me bursting with excitement about some news in their life, and seeing them grow from young, Minecraft obsessed little kids to amazing, fully functional adults. It is inspiring and what keeps me going on those days when I can tell it’s a full moon without even looking.”
Each month, WVPB has an esteemed panel of judges that select one deserving teacher who goes above and beyond for the students in West Virginia. If you know of a deserving teacher that goes “Above and Beyond,” please click here to nominate them.
The Pleasants Power Plant in Pleasants County is scheduled to shut down next year, but there’s still a chance someone will buy it.
The Pleasants Power Plant in Pleasants County is scheduled to shut down next year, but there’s still a chance someone will buy it.
The Pleasants plant sits on the Ohio River just north of Parkersburg. Energy Harbor plans to shut it down in June 2023 because it no longer produces electricity economically for the PJM regional power market, as it did for many years.
However, there are three potential nontraditional uses for the plant, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The plant could be converted to produce hydrogen from natural gas. It could generate power for cryptocurrencies, which require a lot of energy. A coal company could purchase the plant to guarantee a user for its production.
“They left the door open, just a teeny tiny bit, for somebody if they want to buy it,” said energy analyst Dennis Wamsted, who argues there are many reasons the plant would not be a good investment.
First, the plant is more than 40 years old and would require a lot of upgrades. Second, renewables are getting cheaper, and the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act includes new incentives for wind, solar and battery storage.
Third, it just isn’t competitive with other plants in PJM, a regional power market that includes West Virginia and a dozen other states.
“You can’t buy a 45-year-old coal plant and make it economic, today, in PJM,” Wamsted said. “It’s not going to get more efficient, it’s not going to get cheaper, it’s not going to get younger. Maintenance costs are going up. So you end up with a plant that’s costing you boatloads of money, and you’re making no revenue off it.”
Further, he said, there are powerful incentives to help the community plan for a future without the plant. Federal money is available specifically to assist coal and power plant communities.
“The right thing to do would be to start planning to transition away from it. It won’t be popular, but that would definitely make sense.”
Congressman “Cleve” Bailey was born in Pleasants County on July 15, 1886. Early in his career, he was a teacher, school administrator, and newspaper editor in Clarksburg. He got his start in politics as a Clarksburg city councilman.
The Democrat then served in West Virginia state government as assistant auditor and budget director. He was first elected to Congress in 1944 after defeating Republican Edward Rohrbough. Two years later, Bailey lost his re-election to Rohrbough but took the seat back in 1948. A New Deal liberal, Bailey fought to protect West Virginia industries and workers, especially from foreign competition. He also pressed for increased federal support for education.
The 1960 census revealed that West Virginia had lost nearly 150,000 people in a decade. As a result, the state lost a seat in the House of Representatives. In 1962, Bailey was forced to run against popular three-term incumbent congressman Arch Moore, who defeated him handily and ended Bailey’s eight-term congressional career.
Cleve Bailey died in Charleston in 1965, just before his 79th birthday. He’s the only congressman honored with a bust in the West Virginia State Capitol.
