Another Power Plant Being Unloaded Onto WV Consumers?
Dan Heyman, Public News Service-WV
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/32546-1
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(05/20/13) CHARLESTON, W.Va. - With coal-fired power plants around the nation shutting down, why are corporations such as American Electric Power trying to sell coal-generating capacity to customers in West Virginia and Kentucky? Critics say the corporations are trying to move plants that are no longer cost-effective onto the backs of ratepayers who would have no choice but to pay for them.
Alex Desha, an organizer with the Sierra Club in Kentucky, said that motivation is behind a plan to have AEP subsidiaries Appalachian Power and Kentucky Power take the Mitchell power station in Moundsville from a deregulated AEP subsidiary in Ohio.
"It's essentially playing a shell game with our money," he said. "They're buying an old, outdated power plant and they're locking us into coal-fired generation for an extended period of time."
Critics said the plan would raise rates and make consumers more dependent on a single fuel source, maybe adding to future costs, while making the deregulated Ohio subsidiary more diversified and flexible.
AEP also wants to shift part of the John Amos plant to Appalachian Power, and a separate power company - FirstEnergy - wants to do a similar thing with a power plant in Harrison County.
Cathy Kunkel, policy analyst, Energy Efficient West Virginia, pointed out that this is happening as dozens of coal plants have shut down due to competition from cheap natural gas. She said if AEP tried to sell the Mitchell plant on the open market, it might get only a quarter of what the power company wants Appalachian Power to pay.
"The low price of natural gas has really driven down open-market sales of coal plants," Kunkel said. "It's cheaper to generate and buy power from natural gas plants."
AEP said its regulated West Virginia and Kentucky subsidiaries need the generating capacity. However, Kunkel noted, the corporation initially said Appalachian Power needed 80 percent of the Mitchell Plant's capacity, until Kentucky Power decided to retire part of one of its plants, meaning it could buy some of the Mitchell capacity.
"Appalachian Power's plan suddenly changed," Kunkel explained. "They said, 'Oh, we only need 50 percent of the Mitchell plant.' Is this actually about what's the best way to meet the capacity needs of Appalachian Power, or AEP offloading the Mitchell plant?"
The West Virginia PSC will hold a hearing later this summer.
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