West Virginia Coal Economics Impose $36 Million Losses Amid US Coal Revival Plans

A new IEEFA analysis and local reporting show aging coal plants in West Virginia—some 45–54 years old—are generating sustained economic losses (about $66 million from March 2024–Feb 2025) that will leave ratepayers on the hook for roughly $36 million as utilities burn uneconomic coal to manage storage limits. Even in coal-rich states where coal still supplies the bulk of power, long-term expensive contracts have helped electricity costs climb nearly twice as fast as the national average over 15 years. At the same time, surging AI workloads and the rapid expansion of data centers have pushed wholesale prices dramatically higher near data hubs (one analysis found a 267% increase since 2020) and strained regional grids, contributing to capacity-auction spikes and large retail-bill hikes. The federal response—DOE’s $625 million plan to prop up coal, Interior’s decision to open millions of acres for mining at lower royalties, and EPA rollbacks—aims to keep coal plants operating but critics say it risks subsidizing uneconomic assets and could worsen costs, as prior interventions have been costly and ineffective. Local battles over new data centers, such as the proposed Allegheny County project on the former Cheswick site, highlight community concerns about noise, pollution and health even as developers promise mitigation. Residents like a Charleston, W.Va., community activist report bills that sometimes exceed rent, illustrating how aging coal economics, policy decisions to shore up fossil fuels, and rising data-center demand are combining to squeeze households.