Retiring Amos, Mitchell, and Mountaineer Coal Plants Early Would Save West Virginians $1.8 Billion, Analysis Shows

CHARLESTON, WV -- Yesterday, the Sierra Club submitted expert testimony of Rachel Wilson of Synapse Energy Economics with the West Virginia Public Service Commission (WVPSC). The testimony opposes Appalachian Power Company’s (APCo) and Wheeling Power Company’s (WPCo) request to force ratepayers to cover federally required upgrades at the Amos, Mitchell, and Mountaineer coal plants so they can continue to run through 2040, rather than retiring the plants and investing in more cost-effective clean energy. 

According to Ms. Wilson’s testimony, APCo and WPCo’s insistence on keeping all three coal plants running through 2040 could cost ratepayers up to $1.8 billion more than if the utility were to retire the plants by 2028 and replace them with clean energy resources and storage. The $1.8 billion figure assumes a price on carbon. Even without a carbon price, the cost to West Virginian ratepayers to keep all three coal plants running through 2040 would top $400 million. 

The utilities have proposed their expensive rate increase when West Virginian families and businesses are still reeling from a global pandemic and already overburdened with utility bills.The plants also send power to ratepayers in Virginia and Kentucky where public service commissions are similarly considering the utilities’ proposal. Last month, the Sierra Club submitted testimony in Virginia showing that retiring Amos and Mountaineer in 2028 would also save Virginian ratepayers up to $670 million. 

The request also comes at a time when neighboring states and energy markets are moving beyond coal power, as clean energy’s competitiveness over coal continues to accelerate. Additionally, the utilities’ proposal delays a much needed policy discussion in Charleston about creating a just transition plan for coal industry workers and communities in the state. Last month, the United Mine Workers announced their support for President Biden’s plan to go beyond coal in exchange for family-supporting jobs in clean energy. 

Karan Ireland, Sierra Club’s Senior Campaign Representative for Central Appalachia, released the following statement:

“APCo and Wheeling’s proposal is an enormously expensive bid to keep these coal plants alive long after it makes sense to do so. If the West Virginia Public Service Commission approves this plan, ratepayers in the state will be the ones to pay the whopping price tag of $1.8 billion. This should be a wakeup call to the commission and elected leaders in our state that we need to embrace an alternative. The future is not coal power. The longer we ignore this reality, the more it will cost our families, our workers, and our state. We can’t afford to be left behind in a clean energy transition.”