Appalachian Power seeks upgrades to comply with environmental regulations

Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power seek to recover costs associated with improvements and upgrades it made to comply with recently revised environmental regulations at the John Amos, Mountaineer, and Mitchell plants in West Virginia.

These regulations apply to work done related to ash handling and wastewater discharge systems at the facilities. The total investment for all three plants is approximately $384 million.

If the request is approved by the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia, residential customers using 1,000 kWh/month would see a 41-cent monthly increase starting in September 2021.

“This investment in our existing coal plants is all about balance,” Chris Beam, Appalachian Power president and COO, said. “While we are planning investments in renewables in both Virginia and West Virginia, consistent with state legislation, we also need to invest in these plants because they will continue to play an important role in maintaining affordability and reliability for our customers.”

The request includes upgrades to bottom ash handling systems and wastewater treatment facilities to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) and Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) rules. These upgrades would allow these plants to continue to operate through 2040. Ash ponds at the plants will close, and the ash will be moved to regulated landfills.

“For each plant, we analyzed the most cost-effective way to meet customers’ energy needs,” Beam said. “We looked at the level of investment needed to comply with the rules, remaining operating life of the plant, and potential future compliance costs.”

The filing includes an additional alternative for the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville, which would allow it to continue operating through 2028.

“Whether or not the decision is made to retire the Mitchell Plant in 2028, it’s important to recognize how important Mitchell Plant and our employees there have been to the Moundsville community since the plant first opened in 1971,” Beam said. “We will continue to be an important part of the community.”

Both Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power are subsidiaries of American Electric Power Co.