Settlement Reached

MonPower and Potomac Edison’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) proceeding has reached a settlement of most interested parties, but significant concerns remain for West Virginia ratepayers.

As you may recall, Mon Power included in its IRP that it wanted ratepayers to pay for a new gas-fired power plant. The settlement moves the proposed new gas plant outside of the IRP process entirely, meaning that proposal will be considered separately, in an already-filed case, this is a good outcome because there will be greater opportunity for scrutiny in the other case. The agreement also will also ensure that future IRPs have more complete information and that the utilities maintain updated load forecasts when large new proposed loads emerge.

At the same time, the settlement leaves several major issues unresolved that we must continue to advocate for. The IRP still fails to include a plan for energy efficiency or demand-side management programs that would help address growing affordability concerns for customers. Similarly, it also lacks plans to increase customer-owned solar and distributed energy resources that would also help customers reduce costs.

wHAT IS An Integrated Resource Plan:

West Virginia’s electric utilities are required to update their plans for how to meet energy needs, every five years. These plans, called “Integrated Resource Plans” or “IRPs,” are how utilities communicate how much power they believe is needed in future years, and how they think they should supply that power. The catch, though, is that we all pay for the utilities’ decide! So the IRP process is important for thinking of ways our utilities could keep costs low. You can learn more about what an IRP is here.

Mon Power and Potomac Edison, subsidiaries in West Virginia of FirstEnergy, submitted a joint IRP to the WV Public Service Commission (“PSC”) in October 2025. If they follow this plan, it could increase costs. So we need Mon Power/Potomac Edison customers like you to speak up.

KEY ASPECTS