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.
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.