Coal is deeply embedded in West Virginia’s economy, history and culture. But the cost of coal-generated electricity continues to rise, causing residents to shift away from the state’s historically prized fuel.
Mary West is an Army veteran who lives in Beckley, in southern West Virginia’s coalfield. She used to work in the mines, in about 1980, for Ranger Fuel and Pittston Coal in Raleigh County.
West called it hard and dangerous work. An injury put an end to her brief career in mining.
“They released me to go back to work,” she said. “And I told them I was not going to go back, because the Lord hid it underground for a reason and didn’t intend for my crazy butt to keep going down there finding it.”
Her past in coal isn’t obvious when looking at her red-brick home. Its roof is lined with solar panels, generating her power needs. Most months, she pays nothing for electricity.
“Well, you know, God's sun is out every day,” West said. “If there is no sunlight, we still can get generation through the cloud.”
Gary Bolen, a disabled Navy veteran who lives on a fixed income, tries to use power sparingly.
“I keep my thermostat set at 65 [degrees] so I don't have a power bill that high,” he said.
To lower his costs, Bolen made a change from coal-generated electricity.
“I had to transfer it over to gas because the electric heat was running way too high,” he said. “At one time, I had a $500 bill.”
‘Living to pay bills’
Coal used to be the dominant fuel for electricity nationwide, but natural gas overtook it almost a decade ago.
Appalachian Power, a utility serving about half of West Virginia, still generates 90% of its electricity from coal.
Its rates have climbed faster than inflation, and the company is seeking another increase.
Tom Moseley, a retired postal worker, said it would add to what’s already a struggle.
“Most families in Raleigh County are living to pay bills,” he said. “They can't go out and enjoy life. They can't go out and spend money at the movies. Every dollar they make is to pay their bills. And now we have companies wanting an increase.”
President Donald Trump won West Virginia by big margins the past three presidential elections on promises to boost fossil fuel production, including coal. But coal’s promised resurgence hasn’t happened yet.
With Trump now back in the White House with industry-friendly appointees at agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, coal’s supporters are once again talking of a comeback.
Earlier this week, Trump took to his social media platform and said he’d authorize his administration to begin producing energy with “beautiful, clean coal.”
“Outstanding news!” Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey posted in response to Trump on X, formerly Twitter.
“Couldn’t agree more!” posted Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia and the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which vets nominations to the EPA.
On Thursday, 23 state attorneys general, including West Virginia’s J.B. McCuskey, wrote to Energy Secretary Doug Burgum in support of the Trump administration’s plan to boost coal.
Chris Hamilton is the president of the West Virginia Coal Association. He said the state is mining about half of the coal it was in 2009, with half the workforce, but that could change.
“We think, under this new political leadership and with the industries and government working hand-in-hand, we can get back to that 165 million tons of coal,” Hamilton said.
Honey May is the West Virginia chapter director for the Sierra Club, which has pushed successfully for the retirement of coal plants. She said coal’s days are over, no matter what its supporters say.
“It's been over a decade since the last coal plant was put into operation in the United States,” she said. “And that's something I don't see happening again.”
That’s what executives from Appalachian Power’s parent company, American Electric Power, told West Virginia lawmakers in a presentation in February, answering questions about why the company doesn’t burn more coal and build new coal plants.
Del. Henry Dillon, a Republican from Wayne County, cited the growth of data centers, the national energy emergency declared by Trump and the expected rollback of EPA rules.
“Why is AEP not prioritizing investment in new coal fired generation?” Dillon asked.
John Scalzo, vice president of regulatory and finance for Appalachian Power, said coal wouldn’t be the most cost-effective choice.
“The safest investment would be … we'll be looking at natural gas,” Scalzo said.
‘In the downward trend’
Randall Short is the director of regulatory services for AEP. While testifying to a different group of state lawmakers in February, he said the company’s three coal plants in West Virginia frequently can’t compete with lower-cost gas plants.
“The determination of how much those plants run is going to be the variable price of fuel, and that's right now being driven mostly by natural gas,” Short said. “It's very hard to get a coal contract that can beat that price.”
Short said the three plants operate, on average, 40% of the time — close to the average of all coal plants in PJM, the 13-state transmission territory that includes West Virginia.
Appalachian Power’s rate proposal could increase the average electricity customer’s bill by $23.74, or about 14%. It would be another increase among many the company’s customers have seen in the past several years.
Hundreds of residents have submitted comments to state regulators in opposition to the rate increase. A few school boards have, too, including Raleigh County’s.
Another is Marshall County, home to Wheeling Power’s Mitchell coal plant, operated by AEP.
Karen Wissing, a spokeswoman, said in an email the company has proposed an alternative to the West Virginia Public Service Commission that would raise monthly bills by $6.72.
To achieve that, the company would issue bonds that would be paid back over 20 years.
“We ask that any customer struggling with higher bills reach out to us,” she said. “We are available 24/7 to answer questions or share information about the many assistance programs available to our West Virginia neighbors.”
The Public Service Commission will consider Appalachian Power’s rate case this summer.
Coal produces just 15% of the nation’s electricity. For the first time last year, solar and wind outproduced coal, generating 17% of the nation’s electricity. It’s only expected to increase.
The CEO of First Energy, whose Mon Power subsidiary provides electricity to the other half of West Virginia, told investors in February that gas plants would replace the company’s two coal plants in the state in the coming years.
Mon Power is currently building several solar sites in West Virginia, and a few are complete.
As costs continue to increase and renewable resources replace it, May struggles to see a path forward for coal’s comeback.
“There are cheaper, cleaner, faster, more nimble alternatives on the market,” May said. “And that's what's pushing coal in the downward trend.”
This story was produced by the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, a collaboration between West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WPLN and WUOT in Tennessee, LPM, WEKU, WKMS and WKU Public Radio in Kentucky and NPR.
