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June 15, 2026 - Appalachian Power plans to upgrade three of its power plants with recent federal funding received from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The White House announced earlier this month that $700 million will be invested in restoring coal as a power source for the nation. Part of that investment included upgrading 13 existing coal-fired power plants in the United States, including in West Virginia.
Appalachian Power President and CEO Brian Abraham was a guest on MetroNews “Talkline” last week. He said the company received a grant for its Mitchell Plant in Marshall County as part of the White House plans — Appalachian Power has gotten three grants recently.
Brian Abraham “The most recent one was the Mitchell Plant, (it) was $51 million,” Abraham said. “We’ve previously gotten grants at both our (John) Amos (Power) Plant as well as our Mountaineer (Power) Plant. We’re using those to make necessary upgrades, the one at Mitchell particularly for the $51 million will be matched by about $110 million of our investment, and that’s to rebuild a cooling tower that had a defect in it that had been discovered after 60 years.”
Appalachian Power representatives told MetroNews that the Mitchell Plant’s second generating unit has fallen into significant disrepair and needs to be replaced. This federal investment will make a dent in a pricey project.
Abraham said the investment from the Department of Energy will be put right to use.
“Make improvements to be both more efficient and more economical at our plants, which will go directly to reduce the cost to our customer, and that’s our goal every day,” Abraham said. “We’re very appreciative of the Trump administration and the investment it’s making in continuing with our coal fleet.”
Abraham said he believes base-load energy will continue to be relied upon for many years into the future. He said for now, it keeps the lights on in West Virginia.
The improvements to the Mitchell Plant were planned before receiving the federal grants. Abraham said if the federal money had not come down, Appalachian Power would have gone to the state Public Service Commission (PSC) and requested reimbursement — which would have been placed into customers’ rates.
This freed up money to use for other things, Abraham said, to keep the plant running at its peak efficiency. He said they’re always trying to be mindful of customers. The biggest goal, he noted, is to be efficient and cost-effective to keep costs low for ApCo Customers. He said Appalachian Power employees are doing their “level best” to achieve that.
Additionally, he explained that Appalachian Power is incentivized to keep coal plants running.
“Once we get the heat up on these plants, we don’t want to lose that,” Abraham said. “We want them to run 24/7. But if you understand that we’re working in the market where we bid into the PJM (the regional power grid), that is we sell our power on a bid basis. If we’re not the most cost-effective for PJM, then they won’t necessarily be interested.”
Abraham said it’s great for plants to produce something. But he noted if you can’t sell it, there’s nowhere for the product to go.
“Every improvement that we make in the plant, that’s going to result in efficiency, is going to get the overall cost down,” Abraham said. “Because we won’t have to make needed and other repairs on a basis that drives our costs up. If our cost is low, then we become competitive.”
Abraham said building a new coal plant runs into the billions of dollars territory. The $700 million federal investment in coal across the country includes plans for building two new coal plants. Abraham said the federal money will be spread thin, but every little bit helps.
Abraham accused several presidential administrations of trying to put the coal industry out of business by reducing power plants. He said the Trump administration is once again prioritizing coal-powered energy.
Coal has a long run ahead in the country, Abraham said. He reported that Appalachian Power plans to run its plants well beyond 2040, and he said forecasts show that the company is moving to double its output.
For now, Abraham said, the priority is making and planning investments for the future.
PSC hearing/Appalachian Power
Abraham said Appalachian Power representatives reviewed analysis from staff who attended the meeting at PSC headquarters Tuesday morning. During that meeting, the state consumer advocate and a group representing large energy users asked the PSC to hold off Appalachian Power from asking for another base rate increase until summer 2028.
The PSC recently granted 2.8 percent inflationary rate hike for Appalachian Power to begin July 1 with an agreement the utility won’t seek a base rate increase until 2027. The move by the PSC earlier this spring was in exchange of Appalachian Power agreeing to the delay the base rate case which it had planned to file this year along with agreeing to go through with securitization of other costs.
“This was not a new ask, this was what was previously granted in the order of the PSC,” Abraham said. “There was an appeal filed, people looked at it, and said, ‘well, maybe they should’ve taken another look at this and put something on the record.’ That’s the only reason everybody was there.”
Abraham explained that the move from Appalachian Power was to come in with a lower ask to the PSC with an inflationary increase to keep costs low. He said the negotiations with the PSC was a way to make prices consistent — with less peaks and valleys. Abraham said that keeping Appalachian Power from asking for another increase is not going to remedy that — he called for people to work together instead.
Ultimately, Abraham said, Appalachian Power employees to go work every day with an attempt to keep costs low for customers and get a return on equity for shareholders.
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