Dive Brief:
- Two FirstEnergy utilities in West Virginia have asked regulators to approve a $6.9 million annual rate increase to pay for environmental upgrades at two coal facilities facing stricter regulations.
- Mon Power and Potomac Edison say they must make significant investments in the Harrison and Fort Martin Power Stations, including installing technology to control mercury and other emissions, and improving existing flue gas desulfurization equipment.
- The utilities' filing follows a decision by the West Virginia legislature to authorize the state's Public Service Commission to approve coal-fired boiler modernization and improvement plans.
Dive Insight:
Stricter regulations on coal-fired generation are raising costs for consumers, though two West Virginia utilities say the plats are still producing cheap power.
In a statement this week, the two FirstEnergy subsidiaries say they are making emissions control investments at Harrison and Fort Martin to allow the plants to meet "stringent environmental regulations."
If approved by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, customers would start paying about 55 cents more each month, to pay for the upgrades, beginning in May 2017. Mon Power serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties, while Potomac Edison serves 138,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of the state.
This year, West Virginia lawmakers took steps to encourage utilities to upgrade coal-fired power plants, authorizing regulators to approve rate increases in order to support West Virginia's coal industry and keep the state's generation stable.
The utilities say 18 projects are planned or underway at the two plants, including improving electro-static precipitators, installing technology to control mercury and other emissions, improving existing flue gas desulfurization equipment, enhancing continuous emission monitoring, tuning boilers, and improving controls and the selective catalytic reduction system.
