Committee rewrites comprehensive energy plan bill to emphasize coal and gas, adds affordability and coke-production provisions

The Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee adopted multiple amendments and voted to report an engrossed committee substitute for House Bill 53 81 to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass as amended.

Committee counsel explained the substitute would empower the Office of Energy to produce a comprehensive energy policy and grid stabilization plan, require biennial energy-emergency exercises, move the Office of Coalfield Community Development to the Office of Energy and align the Office with existing acts including the Marcellus Gas Act and the Natural Gas Liquids Development Act. Counsel said the substitute removes references to intermittent or renewable generation resources in favor of language that emphasizes base-load energy and assigns additional duties set out in related Senate bills. Counsel also said the PSC timeline for a siting certificate final order was reduced from 270 to 180 days in the substitute.

Delegate Henry Dillon (House, District 29), who offered two amendments on the House floor, told the committee the House substitute had added more than 30 references to renewables and that his amendments refocus the measure on coal and gas, add an affordability section (including a goal to make West Virginia the lowest comprehensive-cost-of-energy state among surrounding states), add water-utility affordability language, and add load-forecasting language similar to what the committee considered earlier. Dillon also described an amendment to require the Division of Economic Development to identify a site for a coke-production facility within counties covered by the Coalfield Revitalization Act, arguing that building coking capacity in Southern West Virginia would keep processing jobs in-state and lower transportation costs for metallurgical coal.

Committee members debated removing hydrogen and nuclear references; a senator said nuclear projects can take 25–30 years and indicated willingness to remove or delay nuclear language. The committee adopted the package of amendments, including the coke-production amendment focused on Southern West Virginia, by voice vote and agreed to report the bill to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass as amended. The transcript records voice votes and adoption of title amendments; no roll-call vote tallies are recorded in the hearing transcript.