REGIONAL VIEW


southwest virginia FOR THE RECORD


Rocky Mount Town Manager James Ervin leads negotiations with Appalachian Power on behalf of several local governments.


The nonprofit Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens (AASC) announced in December 2020 it plans to house a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) center in Marion’s former police department building. AASC, which is headquartered in Cedar Bluff, has been serving senior citizens with a variety of programs for 45 years. It employs more than 200 people. AASC plans to not only buy but also expand the former police building. Construction is expected to begin early in 2021 and take about six months, with the center ready to open by Sept. 30. Renovation costs are projected at $350,000 to $400,000. (Bristol Herald Courier)


Power contract keeps third-party


solar out of reach by Tim Thornton


M


ore than 40 years ago, local governments in Appalachian Power’s service area banded


together to negotiate rates. Now, Rocky Mount Town Manager James Ervin, chair of the steering committee that leads nego- tiations, says that’s worked out well. “We pay a rate that is considerably less than a comparable private sector business,” he says. But there can be complications. Last year, the General Assembly


passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which allows Appalachian Power customers to pursue third-party power purchase agreements and limits third-party power generation to 40 megawatts. However, a contract the local govern- ments signed in 2016 prohibits third-party agreements and restricts the entire region to generating 4 megawatts. That contract expired in June 2020, but the parties are bound by it until they sign a replace- ment, which will likely be delayed until Appalachian Power resolves a dispute with the State Corporation Commission over a proposed rate increase. Appalachian Power has said it intends to appeal the SCC rejec- tion to the Virginia Supreme Court. Power generation wasn’t a hot topic in


2016, Ervin says. But now, he says, “It’s the perfect harmony of fiscal conservatism and environmental stewardship. You can


Photo by Natalee Waters


save money and you can lower your carbon footprint, so it’s sort of a universal thing that they want to do.” Even school boards in the coalfield


counties of Wise and Tazewell passed a resolution supporting a new agreement that would accommodate solar power generation. One attraction is the possibil- ity of a third party absorbing up-front costs for solar installation. “At this time, schools cannot partner


with anyone and would have to foot the bill for the entire cost of anything related to the transition to full or partial solar energy,” says Tazewell County Schools Superintendent Christopher Stacy. “We are not in the process of looking to move to solar energy. We would just like the ability if we ever decide to go in that direction.” The complication on Appalachian


Power’s side is that if customers generate more of their own electricity, they’ll buy less from the utility. “The major issue is how to keep rates low for the collective group, while accommodating more solar- generated electricity,” says Appalachian Power spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall. Ervin expects the cost impact to be small. “The rates we have now versus the


rates we’re likely to get, they’re not going to be drastically different,” he says. “That’s the goal of a regulated utility market.”


www.VirginiaBusiness.com


The bankrupt Blackjewel coal company — which left hundreds of miners in Southwest Virginia without pay in 2019 — is being liquidated and is accusing former CEO Jeff Hoops of conducting fraudulent transactions. Ned Pillersdorf, who represents the company’s former miners, said adversary action filed in mid-December 2020 reads like a “criminal indictment.” Adversary action could lead to recouped funds for Blackjewel, which could in return be used to benefit miners who lost their jobs from the coal company’s bankruptcy. It’s not known whether liquidation will be able to cover a lawsuit filed by the miners who sued over a lack of layoff notice under the WARN Act. (SWVAToday.com)


Students impacted by COVID-19 now have until Dec. 30 to apply for Re-Employing Virginians (REV) tuition assistance to attend Mountain Empire Community College. In early January, Gov. Ralph Northam extended the deadline. The program provides scholarships to enroll in five essential industry programs, including health care, information technology, skilled trades, public safety and early childhood education. MECC will receive more than $782,000 to assist residents of Norton and Wise, Lee, Scott and Dickenson counties who are interested or are currently enrolled in high-demand fields and have been impacted by COVID-19. (The Coalfield Progress)


Retiring the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center (VCHEC) near St. Paul will bring unnecessarily abrupt economic hardship to Wise County if state and local officials do not begin to plan now for a transition, concludes a December 2020 report from the Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis. The eight-year-old power plant, which burns coal, reclaimed coal mine waste and wood waste, is at risk of closure as market and policy forces continue to work against its viability. The report notes that VCHEC ran at only 19.86% of its capacity during the first eight months of 2020. During its peak performance in 2013 and 2014, the facility operated at slightly more than 65% of its capacity. (News release; The Coalfield Progress)


PEOPLE


A Dickenson County sheriff’s deputy announced in early January that he plans to run for the 38th District state Senate seat previously held by Sen. Ben Chafin, who died on Jan. 1 due to complications from COVID-19. Jony Baker, a 44-year-old Wise


Chafin


County native, will make his first bid for public office in a special election to fill the open seat. (Bristol Herald Courier)


The Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce announced in December 2020 that Shannon Ainsley has been named as interim executive director of the chamber. Ainsley has served as the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce membership director since May 2015. (The Southwest Times)


VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 15


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