West Virginia regulators consider utility upgrade request

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia utility regulators will consider a request to have state residents pay for upgrades at three coal-fired power plants after regulators in other states declined to support the changes because they were not economical. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the Public Service Commission agreed Thursday to reopen the case and scheduled a hearing on Sept. 24. Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power filed a request Wednesday to have West Virginia customers be responsible for $48 million annually for upgrades to keep the John Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell coal-fired generating plants in Putnam, Mason and Marshall counties compliant. The upgrades are federally mandated to keep the facilities operating past 2028.