When it comes to the Pleasants Power Station, so far there have only been two options — neither of them good. Either Mon Power/Potomac Edison buys the plant and jacks up the prices for ratepayers to do so (and possibly close Fort Martin), or Energy Transmission & Environmental Management’s planned closure of Pleasants goes forward, putting 150 people out of work.
But, as Brad McElhinny reported a few days ago, it looks like there may be a third option for the Pleasants power plant: Omnis Fuel Technologies has shown interest in running Pleasants Power Station on the hydrogen byproduct of Omnis’ graphite production operations. (Some of the technologies Omnis is developing, including for hydrogen and carbon sequestration, may qualify for federal funding under the Inflation Reduction Act.)
Even though Omnis has begun talks with ETEM, Mon Power and ETEM are still negotiating on a letter of intent. As previously reported, the letter of intent would govern how Pleasants would be preserved in an idle but “able to restart” state. If that agreement can be worked out, power company representatives would return to the Public Service Commission to seek final approval of a surcharge on customers to meet expenses during further exploration of the takeover possibility. That surcharge would be a minimum $36 million passed onto ratepayers over the course of a year. In previous articles, it’s also been mentioned that ETEM has pushed Mon Power to cover other costs as well, which would result in an even higher rate hike.
Omnis taking over Pleasants is the best possible scenario. Which means Mon Power should step back for now, so ETEM can focus on its negotiations with Omnis.
Virtually none of Mon Power’s customers want Mon Power to obtain Pleasants. We suspect (though we cannot say for sure) the people of Pleasants County aren’t particular about who runs the power plant as long as the plant remains operational and its personnel employed. Even the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division — which initially suggested Mon Power buy Pleasants — walked back its recommendation when it realized how much the purchase would cost and how badly it could hurt ratepayers.
If Mon Power presses pause on its negotiations, hopefully ETEM will focus more seriously on Omnis’ offer. If Mon Power continues to hash out a letter of intent, ETEM may not work as hard on a deal with Omnis, knowing it has an almost-guaranteed offer to fall back on.
The “new option” for Pleasants Power Station is the best option, period. Omnis buying Pleasants is the best outcome for everyone: ETEM offloads an unprofitable plant; Omnis gets a power station with which to practice its developing technology; Pleasants stays open; and Mon Power ratepayers don’t face an unnecessary and expensive increase. To make this best-case-scenario more likely, Mon Power needs to walk away from the negotiating table.
