Future plans for site of former Kanawha River power plant before PSC

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Public Service Commission is being asked to dismiss an attempt by Appalachian Power Company to transfer its former Kanawha River Power Plant in eastern Kanawha County to a third party.

Appalachian Power has already contracted with Applied Partners-Kanawha River to demolish the plant located at Glasgow and assume the transfer of liability for any current or future environmental liabilities but the purchase transfer agreement is subject to PSC approval which is stalled with a motion to dismiss filed by the PSC staff and state Consumer Advocate’s Office.

The motion was argued in a Tuesday hearing before the PSC. Testimony indicated there may be interest in the property by another party to produce power there once again.

Appalachian Power Vice President for Regulatory and Finance John Scalzo testified Appalachian Power looked at a possible conversion before it closed the plant in May 2015 and found it uneconomical for themselves and anyone else.

“I think that our assumption was that if it didn’t make sense for the company to do it, who is in the business of running power plants, that it would be hard for a developer to do the same thing under equal costs,” Scalzo said.

He said Appalachian Power instead opted for a plan to clear the site for possible development by someone else. The deal with Applied Partners is about getting the land to that point.

“The idea was to take the site to a Brownsfield site so a developer would have a site they could work with where the plant was completely demolished, taken to the ground, and ready for redevelopment,” Scalzo testified.

Scalzo testified that after its agreement with Applied Partners was signed, Charleston attorney Lee Feinberg said someone was interested in the site for possible electricity generation. Scalzo said converting what’s left of the old plant would be expensive.

“I think there would be significant costs. If a developer would come, I don’t know if that would make sense,” he said.

Scalzo says the state has asked Applied Partners to stop the demolition. He said they haven’t defaulted on the job.

“These demolition companies sell the scrap and when the state told them to stop they didn’t’ have the funds to carry through. So it’s partially at the request of the state is our understanding,” Scalzo said.

The Public Service Commission will make a decision on the motion at a later date.