By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
Following a session of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in the City of Charleston on May 15th, a Commission Order was given that scheduled a virtual and in person public comment hearing in the matter of a Mon Power and Potomac Edison Company energy project that includes a solar project adjacent to the Town of Davis for July 15th at 5:30 p.m.
The History
An application was filed on February 13th by Monongahela Power Company (Mon Power) and The Potomac Edison Company (PE) for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a 1,200 MW combined cycle gas turbine plant and 70 MW of solar capacity, according to the Commission Order. The project is reported to be proposed to be built at the Fort Martin site at a cost of $2.48 billion. The Davis project is part of the solar capacity, which is divided into three parts and is proposed to be constructed at: Valley Point near Albright; Davis, adjacent to the Town of Davis and Wylie Ridge near Weirton, at an estimated $182 million.
The project’s application was reported to be made in anticipation of an expected shortfall in capacity to begin in 2029 and estimated to continue through 2045. A Notice of Filing with the application and their direct testimony was submitted by the companies, along with a request for expedited treatment, within reason. The filing also included a request for approval of a transmission project interconnect of less than one mile, with an anticipated cost of over $20 million.
A Generation Projects Surcharge was requested by the companies (GP Surcharge) to become effective on the first day of the month following the conclusion of the proceeding and to remain in effect until each asset was placed into service. The investment return would then continue to be recovered through the surcharge, once in service, until incorporated into base rates in the next rate case. The GP Surcharge was designed to recover the full amount of the Allowance for Funds Used During Construction (AFUDC) financing costs, according to the documents. The surcharge was estimated to result in a rate increase for residential customers of $1.18 per month or 0.9 percent.
The Commission established notice requirements, procedural schedule and granted petitions to intervene filed by the West Virginia Citizens Action Group, Solar United Neighbors and Energy Efficient West Virginia, along with the Commission’s Consumer Advocate Division, the West Virginia Energy Users Group, Longview Power LLC, Mountain State Clean Energy LLC and the West Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council AFL – CIO on March 17th.
Additional petitions to intervene were granted on April 22nd by the Commission. Those petitions were filed by the Sierra Club, the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Inc., the Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia Inc, the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, the West Virginia Coal Association Inc. and the United Mine Workers of America.
In the beginning, the proceeding did not raise substantial protest, the documents state. However, to date, 74 letters pf protest have been filed and counting.
“We believe that it is reasonable to schedule a public comment hearing to ensure the affected members of the public are fully aware of this proceeding and have an opportunity to participate,” the ruling reads.
The Order
The Commission ordered that the matter be set for a virtual and in person public comment hearing on July 15th at 5:30 p.m. in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room of the Public Service Commission located at 201 Brooks Street in Charleston. A press release will be issued at later date to detail the process to register to speak at the virtual comment hearing. Those interested may also attend the hearing in person, as well.
It was further ordered that Mon Power and PE publish notice of the public comment hearing as a Class I legal advertisement throughout the area served, one time, not more than 20 day and not less than 10 day prior to July 15th in the qualified daily newspapers published in the counties which serve the customers. A legible copy was to be submitted within three days of each publication of notice, as it appeared in the newspaper.
Conclusion
Those interested in participating in the hearing via Teams, must register with the Commission by 4 p.m. on Friday, July 10th. Registration may be made by any of the following methods:
(1) Through the Microsoft Teams meeting link located on the Commission’s website, http://www.psc.state.wv.us under the “PSC Hot Topics” section located at the top of the homepage.
(2) By calling 304-340-0822 (Alexis Weimer) or 304-340-0820 (Andrew Gallagher)
(3) By emailing aweimer@psc.state.wv.us or agallagher@psc.state.wv.us.
Those interested in commenting in person at the hearing during the hearing should attend and can sign up to speak at 5:30 p.m. at the Public Service Commission, Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston.
Alternatively, written comments may be submitted by individuals or entities to the Commission prior to the hearing. Those interested in submitting written comments on the case may submit by mail or hand deliver to: Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 812, Charleston, West Virginia 25323, or on-line at http://www.psc.state.wv.us by clicking on “Submit a Comment” in the left column and following the directions provided. All written comments should reference Case No. 26-0108-E-CN.
Interested persons may also attend the public comment hearing in-person or via webcast to observe the public comment hearing. The webcast may be viewed by clicking “Commission Webcast” located under the “Inside the PSC” section in the left column on the Commission’s website: www.psc.state.wv.us.
