Potomac Edison Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

PSC Approves Solar Project In Mineral County Amid Statewide Boom

The 100-megawatt solar facility will be built by Potomac Hills Energy on a 650-acre former strip mining site.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved a solar project in Mineral County.

The 100-megawatt solar facility will be built by Potomac Hills Energy on a 650-acre former strip-mining site.

A 200-megawatt-hour battery storage system is also planned. The facility will connect to FirstEnergy, the parent company of Mon Power and Potomac Edison.

Solar is undergoing a bit of a boom in the state. West Virginia’s largest solar facility was activated in Monongalia County in January. It’s operated by FirstEnergy. The company is building a second solar facility in Marion County, and three more are planned elsewhere.

The U.S. Department of Energy will provide up to $129 million for a solar project in Nicholas County on two former coal mines. It is planned to generate 250 megawatts of electricity.

Savion, a subsidiary of Shell based in Kansas City, Missouri, will build the project.

PSC Approves Settlements In Mon Power Net Metering, Fuel Cases

New solar customers will get a reduced net metering credit starting next year. And Mon Power will be able to recover fuel costs from electricity customers over the next three years.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has approved settlements in two cases involving Mon Power.

New solar customers will get a reduced net metering credit starting next year. And Mon Power will be able to recover fuel costs from electricity customers over the next three years.

Starting Jan. 1, households with rooftop panels will receive an approximately 9 cents per kilowatt hour credit for the power they generate that goes to the grid.

Under the settlement the PSC approved, existing solar customers will get the higher rate of 11 to 13 cents a kilowatt hour for the next 25 years.

The settlement was a compromise. Mon Power and Potomac Edison had proposed reducing the net metering credit to 6.6 cents a kilowatt hour.

As of March 27, Mon Power began recovering $55.4 million in deferred fuel costs. That will continue through the end of December.

Next year, the company will be allowed to recover $99.5 million, and $95.8 million in 2026.

Like many electric utilities, Mon Power paid steeply higher prices for coal in 2021 and 2022.

Mon Power Building 2nd Solar Facility In State In Marion County

Jim Myers, president of Mon Power parent FirstEnergy’s West Virginia operations, said the property is a former coal ash disposal site.

Mon Power has started construction on its second solar facility in the state.

The company will build a 5.5 megawatt solar farm on 27 acres in Marion County near a coal-burning power plant that closed in 2012.

Jim Myers, president of Mon Power parent FirstEnergy’s West Virginia operations, said the property is a former coal ash disposal site.

“We believe the energy generated by our West Virginia solar sites will continue to encourage economic development in the state because a growing number of companies require a portion of the electricity they purchase to be generated by renewable sources,” he said.

In January, Mon Power activated its first solar facility in West Virginia in Monongalia County. It generates 19 megawatts on about 80 acres near two active coal plants.

The Marion County site, and another in Berkeley County, are expected to start operating by the end of the year.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison are seeking Public Service Commission approval to begin construction on two more solar facilities, one in Tucker County and one in Hancock County.

Together, the solar sites represent a small but growing renewable energy sector in the state.

Mon Power, Consumer Groups Settle Solar Net Metering Case

The sides settled on a compromise of roughly 9 cents a kilowatt hour. The new credit takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

Mon Power has settled a case with consumer groups that will affect households that have rooftop solar panels.

Existing customers receive a retail rate of 11 to 13 cents per kilowatt hour for the power their solar panels send back to the grid, a process known as net energy metering.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison proposed to cut that credit in half to 6.6 cents per kilowatt hour, the wholesale price.

The sides settled on a compromise of roughly 9 cents a kilowatt hour. The new credit takes effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Existing customers will still receive the higher credit for 25 years.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) must still approve the settlement.

A bill moving through the House of Delegates would protect the higher net metering credit.

The parties to the settlement include the PSC, the West Virginia Consumer Advocate Division, Citizen Action Group, Solar United Neighbors, Energy Efficient West Virginia and Solar Holler.

“While we continue to believe that the retail rate is fairest for residential solar customers to receive as a credit, we think that this is a fair settlement in the context of this case,” said Leah Barbour, state director for Solar United Neighbors. “There are some important protections for current customers and clear guidelines to ensure solar will continue to work going forward.”

Mon Power serves 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Potomac Edison serves 155,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle.

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.

Regional Power Companies Propose To End Net Metering

Currently solar customers can sell any excess solar energy they have back to the power companies for the same price that the company sells the energy. However, the power companies are proposing that they pay solar customers a lower “wholesale” price.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison filed a proposal with the Public Service Commission to change the cost of energy for solar panel owners, changing the net metering system as it is now.

They said this adjustment would make the cost of energy more equitable for non-solar customers because solar customers do not pay to store electricity, maintain the grid, or distribute the electricity that they sell. They said then those costs are passed onto other customers who do not have solar panels.

However, Leah Barbor, from West Virginians for Energy Freedom, said the idea that non solar customers will end up paying more because of solar customers is a myth.

“Ultimately, this myth serves utility interests,” Barbor said. “So, they will use it to push for policies that unfairly target solar owners. Either by raising fixed costs and demanding charges on utility bills, which will then lengthen the time it takes for solar investment to pay off, or they’ll weaken or eliminate net metering policies — which is the case here in West Virginia.”

She said that solar can make the cost of energy cheaper, especially during natural disasters, extreme weather events, and high energy demand. She also said that because solar users do not use the grid as often, they do not put much wear and tear on it, making it last longer.

“Rooftop solar really benefits everyone. And this is true for whether people have solar or not,” Barbor said.