I ask you again to consider the complicity of the West Virginia Public Service Commission and policymakers in harming your bank accounts, the environment, and our future all at the same time.
Let us pause for a moment and recall the recent inquiries and decisions concerning American Electric Power and its subsidiaries Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, which supply electricity to about half of the state.
- In October 2021, the PSC ordered Appalachian Power to do whatever it takes to keep three coal-fired power plants operating through at least 2040. The plants faced closure in 2028 if they did not make the required upgrades to meet federal environmental standards. The PSC and its counterparts in Virginia and Kentucky played a game of cowardice over who would bear the greatest burden for the upgrades. West Virginia’s electricity customers lost out. Kentucky refused to pay for some of the upgrades, and Virginia later agreed. Price tag: a expected to be 448 million US dollars upon completion with an initial raise of less than one dollar per month.
- In delayed July 2024, the PSC approved a nearly $36 million raise to aid Appalachian Power recoup some of the costs of modernizing its coal-fired power plants to comply with federal environmental regulations. Price tag: a Increase of 2.71 USD for an average private customer
- In January 2024, the PSC ordered Appalachian Power to recover $321 million due to high fuel costs (coal). Price tag: $2.50 per month over the next 10 years, starting on September 1st.
- In April 2024, Appalachian Power requested an additional $20.4 million for fuel recovery costs. A hearing on that decision will take place in the PSC on August 12.
- And finally, Appalachian Power requested a $265 million rate raise last week. Price tag: an expected Increase of USD 28.72 per month. In addition, their proposal seeks to reduce net metering fees for people who own solar panels and sell energy back to the grid, something that Monongahela Power also requested in a recent request to the PSC
An aggravating factor in more than one of these cases is the 2021 Directive from the PSC that coal-fired power plants operate at 69% of their capacity, even when that power generation is not needed. Both Appalachian Power and environmental and consumer advocates called this order absurd.
And that’s just electricity prices, especially at Appalachian Power. Don’t forget the water and gas price increases we’ve seen in West Virginia.
Many politicians in West Virginia would probably tell you that the reasons we’re raising our rates are because of regulations from the war on coal and the federal government’s subsidies for renewable energy. Focusing on renewable energy subsidies is a way to distract from the external costs of producing fossil fuels: the medical bills, lost wages, and years of life lost by people who sacrifice their knees, backs, and entire bodies in coal mines, only to develop black lung disease years later. Or the health impacts on people who live in the shadow of coal and gas-fired power plants and fear breathing air poisoned by pollutants every day.
Call me crazy, but I think protecting our groundwater from coal waste and spills is a good thing. Keeping our air and rivers free of mercury and other toxins from power plant emissions is beneficial to every person who lives here.
Another way the PSC is complicit in supporting coal-fired power plants at the expense of our health and our wallets is by opposing novel federal regulations that could improve transmission lines. reported by Mountain State Spotlight this week. A federal agency has issued rules designed to speed up the construction of transmission lines to clear a backlog of renewable energy waiting to be fed into the grid. The PSC disagrees with experts who say this will lead to lower electricity bills.
A Current article in the New York Times shows how electricity generation has changed in each state over the last 20 years. Many states were predominantly dependent on coal 20 years ago.
Methane gas has put a significant strain on many states’ power grids, keeping costs relatively affordable. But as I wrote, our policymakers here have not allowed that to happen. Solar, wind, and hydroelectric power have also increased across the country in recent years. West Virginia, on the other hand, has remained devoted to coal. And we have seen some of the highest electric bill increases because of it.
It is vital for the PSC and our elected officials to know what we know: There are better ways to operate our electricity systems.
You can share your thoughts at public hearing at the PSC in Charleston on August 12. Then on August 15, West Virginians for Energy Freedom is holding a rally in front of the AEP office in Charleston to protest against ever-increasing tariffs.
We must demand more from our legislators before and during the 2025 legislative session. We will have a novel governor and a novel slate of legislators. The desire of previous elected officials to cling to the past and not advocate for cleaner forms of energy is what got us here. Let’s not allow the novel officials to make the same mistakes.
Two approaches that legislators could pursue are the demand for more renewable energy (we have been first state to repeal our renewable energy target in 2015) and reform the PSC to ensure it has real consumer representatives. It could be expanded to include more than three commissioners, at least one of whom has a real background in consumer representation.
Currently it seems Main requirement is that no more than two belong to the same political party. Commissioners Renee A. Larrick and Charlotte R. Lane (a former utility lobbyist) are registered Republicans. The third, Bill Raney, is the former chairman of the West Virginia Coal Association and is registered as an independent.
Given Raney’s history in the coal industry and his recent donation to Governor Jim Justice’s Senate campaign, he strikes me as an independent in name only.
An vital first step in getting our electricity bills under control is to ensure that the interests of the commission responsible for regulating the industry are not captured by the interests of the industry itself.
