December 9th, 2017 by WCBC Radio
West Virginia’s electricity rates, for years among the lowest in the nation, have risen in the past decade to the middle of the pack, raising concerns for state efforts to recruit business and industry to the state. Lawmakers were briefed this week. Josh Jarrell, deputy secretary of Commerce, told an interim committee on energy that “Electricity rates are coming up in our conversations where they never did before.” David Ellis, director of quality assurance for the state Public Service Commission, said two key factors have caused electricity rates in the state to spike: The installation of $2.8 billion of pollution control devices, primarily to capture sulfur emissions, on state coal-fired power plants.
