It seems like everything is more expensive these days — including utilities. Under Trump, utility rates rose 5% nationally in 2025. But why? It’s a complex answer, partly attributable to data centers and policy. Read more about it HERE and HERE from Inside Climate News.
There was a lot of great coverage from West Virginia media outlets this week and last. Settle in for some good reading.
The John Amos Power Plant is owned and operated by American Electric Power (AEP) in Putnam and Mason counties.
Charleston Gazette-Mail
DEP records contradict gas and oil industry claims as tank rollbank bill advances
Data pulled by the Gazette-Mail shows the oil and gas industry makes routine violations of aboveground storage tank regulations — thousands of violations, in fact. Read more about the incriminating data HERE.
Morrisey administration, Penzance won’t give basic Berkeley County project details
The secretive data center project in the Eastern Panhandle continues to remain a secret — even after a Freedom of Information Act request from the Gazette-Mail. The state’s Department of Commerce refused to provide basic information to the paper following the request. Read more about it HERE.
VA senators show more concern than WV reps on MSHA Rolling Thunder Mine response
A missing miner was tragically found dead in a Nicholas County coal mine this past November following a search and rescue mission. Two Virginia senators issued a critical letter to MSHA’s leadership on the agency’s decision not to use a seismograph — a tool used to help find missing and trapped miners — in the search and recovery effort. Read more about it from Mike Tony HERE.
WV Legislature prioritizing coal industry over ratepayers, clean water as costs mount
As utility rates around the state continue to climb, lawmakers double down on their commitment to inefficient coal. HB 4026 and the First Energy Act have both passed in the Senate, projecting a future that even Appalachian Power sees as “uneconomic.” Read more about it from Mike Tony in, “WV Legislature prioritizing coal industry over ratepayers, clean water as costs mount.”
Lucia Valentine, Maria Russo, and Honey May discuss issues during a House Energy and Public Works Committee meeting on March 9, 2026. Photographed by Perry Bennett.
WV lawmakers advance plant use directive, nine-figure tax break for the coal industry
Cheaper, more efficient energy sources have been embraced over the years, yet WV legislators continue to do everything in their power to prop-up coal. HB 4026, led by Senator Chris Rose, places restrictions on solar and wind resource investment in utilities. Read more about the legislative hit to renewables HERE.
Mountain State Spotlight
Despite concerns about power bills and property rights, lawmakers race to prop up the coal industry
Ratepayers are at risk of higher utility bills should Sen. Helton and Sen. Rose get their way. Despite the inefficiency of coal, they feel that propping up the industry is beneficial to West Virginians. They’re rushing to pass legislation to support it. Read more HERE.
WV Public Broadcasting
House Rejects Senate Amendment To Energy Bill, Asks Upper Chamber To Recede
On Tuesday, House of Delegates Majority Leader Pat McGeehan raised questions about the addition of SB 420 to energy bill HB 4026. He criticized the baseload generation requirements as “uneconomical”, and the House ultimately asked the Senate to recede. Read and listen to learn more about the dissension between chambers HERE.
Report: Abandoned Gas Wells Are A Growing Problem For W.Va.
“Decommissioning an additional 4,000 orphaned wells from 2032 to 2041 would create more than 2,000 job-years, or 207 jobs per year over the 10-year period. These jobs could help employ hundreds of oil and gas workers who have lost their jobs over the last several years as the drilling boom has subsided.”
If you read our Policy Briefing Booklet, you already know that orphaned oil and gas wells are an issue in West Virginia. But according to a report from the Ohio River Valley Institute, there are thousands of them unaccounted for around the state. Decommissioning them isn’t just better for the environment; it could improve the economy. Read and listen for more HERE.
West Virginia Watch
WV Senate passes data center rules with new language urging developers to study potential water use
“According to a study released earlier this month by the environmental advocacy group Food and Water Watch, water consumption by data centers nationwide tripled between 2014 and 2023. By 2028, per the report, they could use up to 720 billion gallons of water annually just to cool AI data servers.”
While residents around the state are doing all they can to fight back against the boom in data center development, state lawmakers still aren’t doing enough to make sure the development is done responsibly. Read more about the amendment HERE.
Delegate Kayla Young reviews information about aboveground storage tanks during a House Energy and Public Works Committee meeting on March 9, 2026. Photographed by Perry Bennett.
WV House Energy approves watered down version of bill loosening regulations for storage tanks
The House Energy Committee passed an amendment that makes SB 641 slightly less dangerous. Lawmakers who voted against the amendment used “mom and pop” companies as their excuse for reducing more regulations on aboveground storage tanks. Read more about it from Caity Coyne HERE.
WV lawmakers are using mom and pop as an excuse to make it easier for your water to be poisoned
12 years ago, when Freedom Industries improperly stored thousands of gallons of toxic MCHM near the Elk River, they risked the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of West Virginians. Leann Ray talks about the impact of the resulting spill and how many still don’t feel safe drinking their tap water. Read her commentary HERE.
