Who would have thunk it?
Consumers and environmentalists be damned: The WV Public Service Commission, with two* of its three members being former employees of the West Virginia Coal Association, votes to keep coal-fired power plants running past 2028
From WV News:
A TRIO OF coal-fired power plants will be able to remain in operation through at least 2040 under a new order issued by the state Public Service Commission Tuesday. Read about it here: https://t.co/UNz4HbQszM
— WV News (@WVNews247) October 12, 2021
WV Metro News noted the opposition:
Groups ranging from the Sierra Club to the West Virginia Manufacturers Association to AARP West Virginia said doing so would result in too much cost for West Virginia ratepayers.
“This is outrageous. The Public Service Commission is, by law, required to balance the interests of ratepayers and utilities, with an eye to what’s good for the overall economy in the state. What we got with this decision is what is overwhelmingly good for utilities at the expense of their customers, and benefitting one slice of our economy to the detriment of everyone else,” said Emmett Pepper, policy director for Energy Efficient West Virginia.
“And let’s not forget that this is the government doing this to us. We have no choice for where we buy our electricity. The government is forcing all of us to pay more for these private companies to get richer. Anyone who cares about capitalism and free markets should be outraged at this.”
Sorry folks, the calendar may read 2021 but in West Virginia, it is still somewhere in the early to mid-20th century.
*In August, Governor Justice appointed Bill Raney, who had worked for the West Virginia Coal Association for 28 years, to the Public Service Commission. He joined Charlotte Lane who had served as the Association's counsel. (See here.)
