Years ago West Virginia’s congressional delegation, Senators and Representatives alike, declared that they supported “all of the above” when it came to Mountain State production of energy. At the time, that included Joe Manchin, Shelley Moore Capito, Alex Mooney, David McKinley, and Evan Jenkins.
Basically this translates as, if one can produce energy at a profit, West Virginia should welcome it.
In recent years, Grant County has seen a series of initiatives that could see it live out that policy all within its own borders, but energy production has supported the local economy for decades.
The Mount Storm coal-fired power plant, currently operated by Dominion, has operated for over 60 years and burns approximately 15,000 tons of coal per day for over two million people. The Washington DC area relies heavily on this plant for their power.
More recently, wind farms were erected along the ridges just east of the power plant.
Change ‘It does this’ to ‘It would do this’
In June came the announcement of an $18.5 million United States Department of Energy grant that could combine large-scale coal-fired power production with advanced “carbon capture technology.” That technology will not only reduce emissions, but also significantly cut the energy needed to “capture” the carbon.
At the time, Grant County Commission President Kevin Haggerty discussed the potential for Grant County to emerge as a major leader in energy production, enjoying significant economic and jobs benefits from that.
In almost rapid-fire succession, Governor Patrick Morrissey announced at the end of July the addition of a natural gas-fired power plant to the coal plant already in service at Mount Storm. It will add 2.6 gigawatts of production to the 1.6 GW already coming from that facility. One GW can power 750,000 homes.
“For generations, [No change — inside direct quotation] has been an economic engine for West Virginia and a reliable power source for our entire region," the Governor’s release quoted Ed Baine, Dominion Energy’s Executive Vice President of Utility Operations and President of Dominion Energy Virginia, as saying. “This proposed power station will further enhance Mt. Storm’s positive impact on the economy and grid reliability for decades to come. It will create thousands of new jobs, generate billions in economic investment, and strengthen our region’s energy independence. The project demonstrates our continued commitment to West Virginia and supports the state’s energy goals.”
It will create 1,400 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs for the region.
[No change needed — only 2 sentences]
Stated the Governor, “we’re nearly 20 percent of the way toward our long-term generational goal in less than a year.” The American Public Power Association reported seven GW of new projects underway in West Virginia.
This comes as the 13-state grid operator, PJM Interconnection, has warned that unless production and distribution capacity both expand, power shortages could affect the entire grid region between New Jersey and Chicago. West Virginia and Pennsylvania provide the lion’s share of power production for the PJM system.
Both in 2026 and 2025 during peak summer times, PJM had to resort to load reduction strategies that they implement before more significant measures need to be taken.
Because of the nature of how interstate grids operate, no state can isolate itself in production or distribution from burdens and strains on the entire grid. This makes the Mountain State and the Keystone State increasingly economically foundational to some of the most densely populated parts of the United States, not unlike how the Western world once relied almost exclusively on Middle Eastern sources for oil.
West Virginia has slightly higher residential rates (Flag for editor to add unit label (e.g., ‘16.80 cents per kilowatt-hour’) on first figure and consistently throughout.), according to the United States Energy Information Administration, than North Carolina (15.09), Kentucky (14.98), and Georgia (15.84), but still lower than Virginia (17.61), Ohio (19.52), Pennsylvania (21.55), Maryland (21.77), and the District of Columbia (25.40).
New York State does operate its own grid under significant restrictions passed by its own government and pays 29.93 in residential electric rates. Its governor and New York City mayor urged residents there to turn their air conditioners to 70 degrees during a heat emergency to prevent power disruptions. PJM is still as much as two years away from experiencing the same issues.
Said United States Senator Jim Justice, “energy is the lifeblood of West Virginia. Dominion Energy’s investment in a state-of-the-art natural gas plant cements our position as America’s energy leader. Under the Trump administration’s America First energy vision, we aren’t just participating in the national energy renaissance—we’re driving it . . . We are proving once again that when America needs power, West Virginia delivers.”
