Virginia State Corporation Commission Denies ApCo ELG Cost Request for Uneconomic Coal Generation

Richmond, Virginia - Today, the State Corporation Commission of Virginia released its final order in the Appalachian Power Company (APCo) rate case. The Commission denied Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELG) costs for both the John E. Amos and Mountaineer coal plants, both are West Virginia power plants that provide power to Virginia.

The SCC concluded that APCo failed to show that the ELG investments were reasonable and prudent “from an economic or resource adequacy perspective,” based on the record, which included deficiencies and uncertainties in the Company’s analysis. 

"We find it is critically important to analyze the overall impact of this investment on both customer rates and reliability, and that the instant record is currently lacking in both regards (p.12)."

The SCC went one step further than the Hearing Examiner and also denied the previously incurred ELG costs of $19.3 million. 

Today’s news comes just weeks after the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved both the coal ash (CCR) and ELG costs for these same plants, John E. Amos and Mountaineer,  with the intention of keeping them open until 2040. In a related case in Kentucky, the Kentucky Public Service Commission denied APCo subsidiary Kentucky Power’s request for ELG project costs at the Mitchell power plant as well.

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

“We applaud the VA SCC for denying these costs which would have had a negative impact on Virginia ratepayers. We hope the Company will move away from uneconomic and dirty fossil fuels like coal, and move forward with a transition to clean energy while creating a plan for the workers at Amos and Mountaineer.”