Longview Energy asks PSC to trim $145 million from Mon Energy/Potomac Edison $167.5 million charge hike case

MORGANTOWN – FirstEnergy sisters Mon Energy and Potomac Edison are searching for a brand new charge hike of $167.5 million to cowl their prices of manufacturing electrical energy. However competitor and Mon Energy buyer Longview Energy is asking the state Public Service Fee to whack nearly all of that and approve solely a small fraction of the request.

The PSC case is Mon Energy’s and Potomac Edison’s annual ENEC – expended web vitality value – submitting.

They’re asking for $167,465,330, which they mission would add $9.19 to the typical month-to-month residential invoice, elevating it from $120.20 to $129.39 – a 7.8% hike.

Longview Energy in a Friday submitting asks the PSC to dismiss $144,805,585, saying the FirstEnergy corporations haven’t prudently managed their prices or complied with PSC directives. They’re asking the PSC to dismiss these prices with prejudice, which means the businesses may by no means once more search to recoup them.

That would go away the businesses a hike of simply $22,659,745 on this case.

All advised, Mon Energy and Potomac Edison calculate an under-recovery (recouping lower than they spent) of $243,032,313. They suggest to separate the overall $243 million throughout two years, so this ENEC request, filed Aug. 31, is for the $167.5 million.

Longview factors out that the portion they need dismissed – the practically $145 million – is under-recovery for the interval of July 1, 2021, by way of June 30, 2022. State code requires the PSC to find out that “the prices resulted from prudent actions on the a part of the utility and have been affordable.”

“Longview understands that $144,805,585 is some huge cash to the businesses, however it’s also some huge cash to ratepayers,” Longview mentioned. “In any occasion, the businesses have solely themselves in charge for the state of affairs through which they discover themselves.”

The interval in query – Fiscal 12 months 2002 – was a interval of rising vitality costs and the businesses ought to have been working their energy vegetation at excessive capability and promoting the ability into the PJM regional vitality grid, which might have decreased their ENEC prices and saved ratepayers cash.

As a substitute, Longview mentioned, the businesses ran their Fort Martin and Harrison coal-fired vegetation at decrease capacities. “Consequently, as an alternative of creating wealth in the course of the 2021-2022 Assessment Interval, the Firms misplaced cash at an alarming charge.”

The decreased output, Longview mentioned, value the businesses someplace from $59 million to $89 million; and the vegetation additionally struggled with coal procurement and stock throughout this time.

“The businesses have recognized for eight months that they have to justify the reasonableness and prudence of their prices. They’ve recognized the precise criticisms of their administration selections that they have to clarify and justify. The businesses may have prevented this disallowance had they finished what the Fee advised them to do [in a prior order, to justify their FY 2022 costs].”

The businesses will reply to Longview’s submitting in a future submitting of their very own.

Additionally earlier than the PSC is the businesses’ base charge hike request: $207.5 million for infrastructure and for his or her vitality help program. The hike would value the typical residential buyer $18.07 monthly – elevating a invoice from $120.20 to $138.27.

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