September 19, 2021 - The Public Service Commission has scheduled a public comment hearing for a reopened case that will affect the future of three coal-fired power plants.

On Aug. 4, the PSC granted Appalachian Power Co. and Wheeling Power Co. a certificate of convenience and necessity to make internal modifications necessary to comply with federal environmental regulations at the Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell coal-fired generating plants.

That order provided an opportunity for the plants to remain operational through 2040. The commission also authorized the companies to implement a surcharge in order to recover the construction costs.

On Sept. 9, the commission reopened this case on a petition by APCo and WPCo, and set a procedural schedule including an evidentiary hearing date of next Friday. On Sept.15, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Solar United Neighbors, and Energy Efficient West Virginia, an intervenor in the case, filed a request for a public comment hearing.

The commission will hold the public comment hearing from 8-9 a.m. next Friday in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room of the Public Service Commission, 201 Brooks Street in Charleston.

Given the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks are encouraged. The commission will hold the evidentiary hearing on the issues raised in the petition to reopen and responses following the public comment hearing. The evidentiary hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m.