CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at giving a financially-ailing power plant a better chance of survival.
“What we’re trying to do is help them continue to be there,” said Delegate Vernon Criss, R-Wood, the vice chairman of the House Finance Committee.
“If we allow this to happen, we’ll be able to keep this plant open and keep it in private hands to be competitive.”
Delegates voted 77-5 with 18 absences to pass the bill.
A couple of hours later, the bill passed the Senate, 28-0 with 6 absences.
There was little debate in the Senate. Senator Charles Clements, R-Wetzel, spoke in favor of the bill: “Let’s keep this plant open. If the plant closes, we lose the money anyway. It’s gone.”
The bill would eliminate the business and occupation tax for the Pleasants Power Station, which has been operating under bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions. The tax has brought in about $12.5 million a year for the state.
The coal-fired power plant is unlike many others in West Virginia because it is not regulated by the Public Service Commission. So it absorbs the B&O tax, rather than passing it along to ratepayers.
The Longview Power Plant, also a merchant plant, has a local exemption, officials said.
So that has created a unique tax burden for the Pleasants Power Station, lawmakers said.
“If we pass this bill it will be somewhat of an expense to the state of West Virginia, about $12 million,” said Delegate John Kelly, R-Wood. “If we don’t pass it, it will cost a lot more than that.”
The power plant employs about 160 people and is supplied by West Virginia coal.
FirstEnergy Solutions wound up with oversight of the coal-fired power plant in Pleasants County through ongoing bankruptcy that would wind the plant down by 2022.
said the company wants to take part in August in a capacity auction, which means the plant could be paid for power it provides in the future.
The Pleasants Power Plant is running so close to the edge financially, that it needs to shed the $12.5 million annual tax obligation to be able to commit to still being open to deliver on the bid, company officials said.
John Judge, President and CEO of First Energy Solutions, joins @HoppyKercheval to discuss the proposed tax break for the Pleasants County Power Station. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIAoe1 pic.twitter.com/fqNatQQLQx
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) July 23, 2019
Gov. Jim Justice called for the bill’s introduction on Friday evening, so its consideration and passage happened quickly.
“This bill is so incredibly important because we’re talking about saving people’s jobs — good coal jobs — and saving entire counties that would be devastated if this plant were to close for good,” Justice stated.
“This is an emergency, and I’m calling on the House and Senate to work along with me to act on this as quickly as possible.”
Delegate Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, said the bill would have benefited from longer consideration.
“The problem we’ve got with something rushed through like this is it feels like log rolling,” Rowe said. “It’s a change in our tax code without studying it.”
Others raised questions too.
Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, said there should at least be discussion of the climate change effects of coal-fired power plants.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to have a discussion about coal in West Virginia and coal-fired power plants in West Virginia without having climate change as part of that discussion,” he said.
House Majority Leader Amy Summers, R-Taylor, countered, “Just being for this bill does not mean you’re against renewables.”
She added, “”These jobs are not some abstract thought.”
Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, said market forces are against the plant’s survival, even with the tax break.
“If I believed that three years from now these jobs would be here if we pass this bill, I would vote for this in a heartbeat,” Doyle said.
Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock, spoke up in favor of trying to give the power plant a chance.
“If someone told you that you could have three more years of paychecks, wouldn’t you take it?” Swartzmiller asked.