PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
OF WEST VIRGINIA
CHARLESTON
CASE NO. 23-0328-E-PC
APPALACHIAN POWER COMPANY AND WHEELING POWER COMPANY
Petition for Commission Approval of Cost Recovery for a Purchase and Sale Agreement and Seven Purchased Power Agreements for Renewable Energy.
NOTICE OF FILING AND HEARING
On March 31, 2023, Appalachian Power Company (APCo) and Wheeling Power Company (WPCo) (together, the Companies) filed a Petition with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (Commission) seeking the recovery of costs associated with APCo’s agreements to acquire the Grover Hill wind facility and to purchase renewable energy products from the Green Acres, Mountain Brook, River Trail, Shifting Sands, Sunny Rock, Pleasant Prairie, and Horsepen Branch solar facilities. The Companies’ Petition is on file with and available for public inspection at the Commission’s offices, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, WV 25301, and at the Commission’s website, www.psc.state.wv.us.
The Commission has set an evidentiary hearing in the matter for September 14, 2023, starting at 9:30 am, and continuing to September 15, 2023, if necessary, to be held in the Howard M. Cunningham Hearing Room at the Commission’s offices, 201 Brooks Street, Charleston, WV 25301. Interested persons may attend the hearing and will have an opportunity to make public comment.
The acquisition of the aforementioned renewable energy generation facility and the purchase of the aforementioned renewable energy products can be expected to have an ultimate impact on the Companies’ West Virginia retail rates at some point in the future. The Companies do not expect these transactions to lead to any significant increase in customer rates. Rather, the Companies project that the transactions will reduce customer rates over the lives of the wind and solar facilities.
The Companies have a Renewable Power Plus (RPP) Tariff to be offered on a voluntary basis to all customers in addition to the Companies’ standard tariff offerings. It is anticipated that, over time, the costs of the proposed renewable facilities will be offset by the customers subscribing to the RPP Tariff, special contract revenues, and the cost of service benefits produced by the facilities. The costs of the renewable energy PPAs with the Green Acres, Mountain Brook, River Trail, Shifting Sands, Sunny Rock, Pleasant Prairie, and Horsepen Branch solar facilities are proposed to be recovered in expanded net energy cost (ENEC) rates. The costs of the proposed Grover Hill wind facility will be recovered through a surcharge.
The renewable facilities have varying in-service dates, but the Companies project that rates would increase by approximately $3.7 million, on an aggregate basis after offsets, during a hypothetical first year that assumes all eight facilities are in service, as shown in the table below. Such rates will likely be phased in as of the commercial operation date for the Grover Hill wind facility and the date of the Companies’ annual ENEC rates for the Green Acres, Mountain Brook, River Trail, Shifting Sands, Sunny Rock, Pleasant Prairie, and Horsepen Branch solar facilities. The estimated rate increase in the hypothetical “Year 1” for each of the Companies’ tariff classes is also shown in the table below. By way of example, a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month would experience a net monthly increase of $0.29.
The increases shown herein are based on averages of all customers in the indicated class. Individual customers may receive increases that are greater or less than average. Furthermore, the requested rates and charges among the various classes of customers are only a proposal and are subject to change (increases or decreases) by the Commission in its review of the Companies’ filing.
Anyone desiring to intervene in the matter should file a written petition to intervene on or before July 20, 2023, unless otherwise ordered by the Commission. All requests to intervene should briefly state the reason for the request and comply with the rules on intervention set forth in the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. The Commission will receive public comments until the beginning of the hearing. All written comments and requests to intervene should state the case name and number and be addressed to Karen Buckley, Executive Secretary, P.O. Box 812, Charleston, WV 25323. Public comments may also be filed online at http://www.psc.state.wv.us/scripts/onlinecomments/default.cfm by clicking the “Formal Case”” link.
APPALACHIAN POWER COMPANY and
WHEELING POWER COMPANY
ID: 715994