At a recent evidentiary hearing, West Virginia regulators signaled possible approval of a request from utilities Mon Power and Potomac Edison to build a new natural gas plant, along with three solar energy projects. The proposals are planned for Monongalia County.
Critics said an associated rate hike would cost households around $2.5 billion and the move is a push to accommodate energy demands from a prospective data center.
Dani Parent, executive director of the group West Virginia Citizen Action, said residential bills are projected to increase by several hundred dollars before the plant begins operating.
“This is going to begin showing up on people’s monthly energy bills, and based on our estimates, will do so for at least five years before anything is even fully built,” Parent pointed out.
According to the Public Service Commission, the companies seek an initial surcharge to pay for the projects, which would result in an average increase in customer bills of $1.18 a month. The utilities’ parent company, First Energy, said the plant is needed to keep power reliable and affordable for customers.
Parent noted community advocates have been speculating the new gas plant is tied to a single, uncommitted prospective data center, adding the power generation from a new plant is not needed to serve existing customers.
“Whatever it is for, it is for a large energy user and will definitely fall back on rate payers,” Parent contended.
According to the company, if the Public Service Commission of West Virginia approves the plant, site work would begin as early as 2027, with the plant coming online in late 2031.
