Appalachian Power continues to have high inventories of coal at its West Virginia plants, and that’s costing the company and electricity customers.
The company asked the Public Service Commission on Tuesday to recover $71.6 million in fuel costs for the 12-month period ending in February.
If approved, the average residential electricity customer would pay about $5 more a month.
One of the ways Appalachian Power dealt with the oversupply of coal at its plants was to burn coal to produce electricity at times when it was not economic to do so.
As a result, the company lost $40.5 million during those 12 months. Of the three plants, John Amos was the only one that came close to breaking even under the company’s strategy.
The company testified in its filing that breaking its contracts with coal suppliers would have cost substantially more, nearly $300 million.
Jason Stegall, director of regulatory services for American Electric Power Service Corporation, told the commission that the company’s strategy was “consistent, prudent and reasonable.”
The Amos plant in Putnam County lost the least of the three plants by operating outside of economic dispatch, at just under $900,000.
Mountaineer, in Mason County, lost more than $15 million during the 12-month period.
Mitchell, in Marshall County, lost the most, more than $24 million during that timeframe.
That’s in addition to the $87 million the three plants lost in 2023 and 2024, following the same strategy.
In both cases, Stegall told the PSC that it was done for safety reasons.
The latest fuel recovery request comes as Appalachian Power seeks PSC approval of a base rate increase.
If approved as submitted in November, the average electricity customer’s bill would go up $24 a month.
Hundreds of residents, and school boards and county commissions have submitted comments in protest of the rate proposal.
Residents frustrated with high power bills are switching to alternatives, including rooftop solar.
Though the Virginia legislature enacted a cap on Appalachian Power’s rates in Virginia on a bipartisan basis, West Virginia lawmakers failed to consider similar legislation.