Kentucky Power has formally notified state regulators of its plan to build a new cooling tower at its Mitchell plant in West Virginia.
Kentucky Power told the Kentucky Public Service Commission earlier this month that it will seek permission to build the mechanical draft cooling tower at Mitchell.
Mitchell, which is south of Moundsville, West Virginia, is jointly owned by Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power, both subsidiaries of American Electric Power.
Kentucky Power is currently before the Kentucky PSC seeking a rate increase. A settlement agreement filed in recent days would raise customer rates 8% this year and 9% next year above current rates.
The Kentucky commission spent three days last week hearing the evidence in the rate case.
The cooling tower project came up during the hearings as a looming expense. Kentucky Power applied in November to the U.S. Department of Energy for a grant to pay for part of the cost.
While the application says Kentucky Power is requesting 30% of the cooling tower project’s cost from the government, it doesn’t reveal how much it’s estimated to cost.
A publicly available version of the application is heavily redacted, with references to cost figures blacked out. The company describes the information as confidential.
The 50-year-old Mitchell’s future was uncertain in 2021 after the Kentucky PSC rejected Kentucky Power’s application to maintain its share of the plant beyond 2028.
AEP, the parent company, attempted to sell Kentucky Power, but a deal fell through.
Kentucky Power came back to the Kentucky commission last year to ask for approval for investment in Mitchell beyond 2028. On Dec. 30, the commission gave its approval.
