By Derek Redd

April 9, 2021 - West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey entered the fray Thursday to help save Marshall County’s Mitchell Power Plant from being closed early.

The petition Morrisey filed Thursday seeks to intervene in an ongoing proceeding before the West Virginia Public Service Commission. Appalachian Power and its subsidiary, Wheeling Power, filed in December an application for a certificate to make internal modifications at three of its coal-fired generating plants — the Amos Plant in Winfield, the Mountaineer Plant in Letart and the Mitchell Plant.

According to the companies, they must make those modifications to comply with federal environmental regulations. They provided two cost estimates for that construction. The first costs $317 million and keeps all three plants open until 2040. The second costs $286 million, keeps the Amos and Mountaineer plants open until 2040, but keeps the Mitchell Plant open only until 2028.

The Mitchell Plant is a 1,560-megawatt, coal-fueled power plant that has been operating since 1971 and employs 200 people, according to an AEP fact sheet. It uses an average of 11,000 tons of coal per day.

Morrisey’s petition supports the continued operation of the Mitchell Plant past 2028, saying closing that plant in seven years would be a massive blow to the economy.

“We have to protect parts of the coal fleet that still provide so many important jobs for West Virginians,” Morrisey said in a video released by the Attorney General’s office. “That’s why we intervened in the motion today. It’s critical that the PSC is informed with the state’s perspective on how coal remains an important part of our national security, our electricity grid, and so many jobs here in West Virginia.”

Federal regulation requires Wheeling Power to commit to the modifications for the Mitchell Plant by October. Without that commitment and approvals from the PSC, Morrisey’s office said the plant would have to close in 2028. Wheeling Power has asked for a decision from the PSC by July 31.