1. Submit a letter of comment to the Public Service Commission: online here,or mail to: Sandra Squire, Executive Secretary Public Service Commission of WV 201 Brooks St Charleston, WV 25301
Be sure to reference Case No. 12-1655 in your comments for them to be included in the Appalachian Power coal plant transfer case. A sample letter is available here. Comments must be submitted before July 16, 2013.
2. Submit a letter to the editor of your local paper. Typically these should be 200-300 words. A sample letter to the editor is available on our factsheet and at the bottom of this page.
3. Come to the public hearing: July 16th at 9:30am at the Public Service Commission (201 Brooks St., Charleston, WV)
4. Sign our petition and we will deliver it to the Public Service Commission before the hearing in mid-July.
5. Downoad our factsheet and learn more learn more about Appalachian Power's proposal by browsing information on our website here.
Talking
Points:
This
coal plant transfer will lock us into getting electricity from and
paying off a major investment for the next 20 years. We should have
a mix of efficiency, demand response, expanded renewable generation
and gas fired plants to provide the kind of flexibility we need to
reduce our dependence on coal and gas fuel prices in the future.
Appalachian
Power could be offering far more energy efficiency programs to their
customers in West Virginia, like they do in Ohio. Such programs
would generate local jobs in weatherizing
homes and businesses, installing more efficient lighting, upgrading
HVAC systems, performing industrial energy assessments, and more.
The
baseline energy efficiency scenario assumed by Appalachian Power is
much weaker than what AEP is required to meet in Ohio. The PSC
should require greater investment in energy efficiency and demand
response from Appalachian Power.
Sample letter to the editor: Dear
Editor: The
Public Service Commission should reject Appalachian Power's plans to purchase
shares of the John Amos and Mitchell coal plants. We have to ask why Appalachian Power, a
subsidiary of AEP, is seeking to purchase old coal plants from another
subsidiary of AEP. If these coal plants
are forced to compete in a deregulated electricity market, they will be at a
disadvantage because natural gas prices are so low; AEP can make more money by
shielding the plants from competition in West Virginia's regulated electricity
system, where ratepayers will be stuck paying for them for the next twenty-plus
years. There is no reason for West
Virginia ratepayers to bail out Ohio-based AEP. Appalachian
Power should have issued a request for proposals to see what other options are
available for meeting their electricity needs, instead of simply asserting that
purchasing power plants from their affiliated company is the best option. And the company should be more aggressively
investing in energy efficiency. It is cheaper to save energy through efficiency
than to purchase any form of generation, so energy efficiency investments need
to be part of Appalachian Power's solution.
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