Kentucky Regulators Approve $191 Million Cooling Tower at Mitchell Coal Plant

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC) approved Kentucky Power’s application on October 19 to build a mechanical-draft cooling tower at the Mitchell coal-fired power plant in West Virginia. The approximately $191 million project also includes partial demolition of the aging cooling tower serving Unit 2.

The work is intended to support reliable plant operations beyond 2028. Project costs will be shared by customers in Kentucky and West Virginia through rate adjustments, linking the infrastructure investment to electricity bills in both states.

The approval concerns cooling infrastructure at an existing coal-fired plant. Its significance lies in addressing aging equipment that supports continued operation. The stated reliability objective provides a basis for the investment, but does not by itself establish how long the plant will ultimately operate beyond 2028.

For customers, the main financial issue is how the project’s cost translates into rates. The approximately $191 million project value alone does not establish the size of an individual bill increase: that will depend on how costs are allocated and recovered through the applicable rate adjustments. Sharing costs across the two states also makes the distribution of that burden a key point to follow.

As the project advances, construction progress, the final cost and the timing and terms of rate recovery will help show whether the investment delivers its intended reliability benefits and how those benefits are balanced against customer costs.