Energy

West Virginia's SB 426 establishes a mandatory "call before you dig" notification system to prevent damage to underground infrastructure. It requires excavators (e.g., construction crews) to notify utility operators of planned digging activities before starting work, covering facilities like gas lines, water mains, sewer systems, and fiber optic cables. The bill creates an Underground Facilities Damage Prevention Board to enforce these rules, with penalties collected from violators funding the board directly instead of the state treasury. This affects all entities performing excavation work in the state, aiming to reduce accidental damage to critical underground utilities.

HB 4379 allows West Virginia's Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve faster cost recovery for electric utilities building or upgrading specific advanced transmission technologies. It directly affects utilities investing in projects that improve grid capacity, efficiency, reliability, or safety - such as advanced conductors, dynamic line rating, or power flow controls - by enabling them to recover costs through customer rates more quickly than usual. The bill requires the PSC to approve such projects only if they are technically feasible, economically reasonable, and prudent, while also considering impacts on existing investment agreements. This change aims to incentivize grid modernization without altering the PSC's oversight role.

SB 577 would impose a one-year moratorium on all electric and natural gas utility rate increases for utilities regulated by West Virginia's Public Service Commission, directly affecting all residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The bill prohibits new rate hikes, suspends pending rate cases, and requires the Commission to limit emergency exceptions only to situations threatening safe service or causing extreme financial hardship to the utility. It also mandates a legislative interim study on utility rate trends, management practices, and potential policy solutions during the moratorium period.

HB 4635 requires West Virginia's Public Service Commission to hold hearings on rate adjustment requests from public electric utilities and issue recommendations to the legislature. The bill shifts final approval authority for utility rate changes from the Commission to the state legislature, ending the Commission's prior power to approve such adjustments. It also directly affects coal-fired electricity generators by mandating they maintain a minimum average rate of electricity production. This bill applies specifically to public electric utilities, particularly those operating coal-fired facilities, and changes the process for approving rate increases.