Securities and Exchange Commission Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

PSC Decision May Help Appalachian Power Parent Save On Taxes

American Electric Power reported Thursday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will record a pretax charge of $222 million for the third quarter of 2023.

Appalachian Power’s parent company will report a pretax loss as a result of a West Virginia Public Service Commission’s decision this week.

American Electric Power reported Thursday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will record a pretax charge of $222 million for the third quarter of 2023.

That reflects the PSC’s disallowance of $232 million of the $553 million the company sought to recover from electricity customers for fuel costs going back to 2021.

In addition to helping reduce the company’s tax burden, the loss appears to have no effect on AEP’s plan to pay its shareholders $1.9 billion in 2024, $200 million more than it paid them in 2023, according to an investor presentation this week.

Appalachian Power did say Wednesday that it planned to explore legal options for the PSC ruling. The commission’s decision Tuesday allowed the company to recover $321 million from customers. That will cost the average household $2.50 a month for 10 years.

Appalachian Power is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Cost Rises To $7.2 Billion, Completion Delayed

In a filing Wednesday, Equitrans Midstream cited labor conditions as part of the reason the project won’t be completed this year and above the $6.6 billion it previously estimated.

The cost of a controversial natural gas pipeline has gone up and its completion delayed.

The 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline will now cost $7.2 billion to finish, and that won’t happen until next year, its builders told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a filing Wednesday, Equitrans Midstream cited labor conditions as part of the reason the project won’t be completed this year and above the $6.6 billion it previously estimated.

Construction resumed on the Mountain Valley Pipeline over the summer after Congress required its completion.

It had been held up in court numerous times as environmental groups and landowners successfully challenged the project’s federal permits.

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the remaining cases after lawmakers approved those permits.

Chesapeake Energy Royalty Practice Investigated

Chesapeake Energy’s royalty payment practice is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states.

The company says in a recent regulatory filing that it has received subpoenas from the federal agency and the states seeking information on its royalty payment practice.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission also says Chesapeake’s purchase and lease of oil and gas rights in various states is being investigated. The states weren’t identified.

Chesapeake spokeswoman Lindsay McIntyre tells The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register that the company declines comment beyond statements made in the filing.