CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission has until March to make a decision on Mon Power’s request to build a new natural gas-fired power plant near Morgantown and put a surcharge on its customers to help finance it.
The PSC heard a second and final day of testimony Friday at commission headquarters in Charleston.
Mon Power is asking the PSC to approve a $2.4 billion natural gas-powered power plant that would be built just north of Morgantown near its Fort Martin Plant and be operational by 2031. The requested surcharge is $1.18 a month.
Energy consultant Steve Baron testified on behalf of the West Virginia Energy Users Group Friday which represents large customers of Mon Power. He said the requested surcharge represents real money to customers.
“That’s not a cost-free result for customers who have to come up with the extra money or the small customers that may have credit card bills or large customers who may have to make decisions on capital projects,” Baron said.
Mon Power attorney Christopher Callas told Baron the company could finance the plant up front without ratepayers but that’s not the preferred route.
“The company is not saying this would put it in financial distress or that it could not be done, it is saying however that it may very well stress its credit metrics and lead to higher financing costs that would be baked in,” Callas said.
Mon Power President Chris Beam testified Thursday the company has been in discussions with three data center developers. Beam said the data centers would be the users of the electrity produced by the plant. He said those who run the data centers would eventually pay for the plant.
“As soon as we sign a contract with one of the vendors, and there’s more than one, as soon as we sign the contract we will submit the contract to the Public Service Commission and all that contract will do is reduce the burden that’s on the existing customer base,” Beam said.
Baron countered Friday testifying it’s difficult to predict what will happen since there are no signed contracts with data centers.
“I’m assuming that if the customers eventually do construct their projects and need their power there will be contracts, but I just don’t know,” he said.
West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Vice President Brian Dayton testified in support of the project on a soley economic development level. Dayton said he wasn’t there to talk about the financing.
There’s been some criticism of data centers and the power plant over the past two days about the number of permanent jobs they will create when compared to construction jobs. PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane seemed to focus on that issue when she questioned Dayton.
“Would it be fair to say that when we’re talking about construction jobs, even one job, is good for the person who has it and is a benefit to the state?” Lane asked.
“Yes,” Dayton said.