Expert Testimony on Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison's CPCN Application for a Data Center-Driven Natural Gas Plant in West Virginia
Synapse provided expert testimony and analysis to support the Sierra Club in evaluating Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison Company's application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to construct and operate a 1,200 MW combined cycle natural gas plant in Monongalia County, West Virginia, and to construct 70 MW of solar generation at three sites. Synapse found that the load forecast associated with the proposed data center was too speculative, that the process by which the two companies determined their approach for constructing the natural gas plant was flawed, and that the proposed cost recovery mechanism placed too much risk on existing customers and was inconsistent with evolving state and federal policies.
Synapse recommended that the Commission deny the CPCN for the natural gas plant and approve the CPCNs for the three solar projects based on those findings. Synapse also recommended that the Commission require the utilities to improve their planning and procurement processes and develop mechanisms to ensure that existing customers don't pay for the costs of new resources developed to serve data centers.