7/26/2016

Appalachian and Wheeling Power diversify energy portfolio with new wind contract; seek PSC approval in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W. Va., July 26, 2016 – Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power today filed with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) for approval of the long-term purchase of 120 megawatts (MW) of new wind generation. The 20-year purchased power agreement will increase the companies’ total wind generation to 495 MW and is consistent with its forward-looking Integrated Resource Plans (IRP) for service areas in West Virginia and Virginia.

The renewable energy will be purchased from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC.  The energy will come from its planned Bluff Point Wind Energy Center to be constructed in Jay and Randolph Counties, Indiana. NextEra will own and operate the wind farm.

The extension by Congress in November 2015 of the Wind Production Tax Credit provides cost advantages to wind energy resources constructed over the next five years and makes this agreement cost-effective for Appalachian Power customers. The new generation is expected to be available to Appalachian Power by 2018.

In the filing with the PSC, the companies seek approval of the purchased power agreement and future cost recovery.  A similar request was made to the Virginia State Corporation Commission last month.

Appalachian selected the Indiana wind project as part of a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued earlier this year. The company received proposals from more than a dozen qualified wind farms.

Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 223,000 miles of distribution lines.  AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S.