The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia Bill Mandates 69% Coal Plant Utilization and Restricts Wind and Solar Investments
Last action · January 30, 2026: To House Energy and Public WorksSponsors: Eric Brooks and 3 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia establishes the West Virginia First Energy Act, requiring regulated coal-fired power plants to maintain a 69% utilization rate, prohibiting utilities from recovering costs for new wind or solar projects unless strict reliability standards are met, and barring rate increases for noncompliant utilities starting July 1, 2026.
Retail electric rates, utility infrastructure investments, and plant retirement decisions across West Virginia become tied directly to mandatory minimum fuel inventories and operational thresholds for fossil-fuel generation.
- The West Virginia Public Service Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for overseeing public utilities, setting rates, and ensuring reliable service. context
- PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states, including West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Regulated utilities
Regulated electric utilities face mandatory operational thresholds, restrictions on intermittent energy capital investments, and contingent rate increase eligibility.
Coal-fired electric generating facilities
Coal generation plants must maintain a 69% rolling utilization rate and 30-day on-site fuel inventories, and cannot be retired without strict regulatory approval.
Natural-gas-fired generating facilities
Natural-gas plants must maintain firm pipeline transportation or storage contracts and report fuel utilization volumes annually.
Retail electricity customers
Consumers experience utility rate increase restrictions linked to generator compliance and regulatory oversight of resource reliability and wholesale market exposure.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What utilization rate must coal-fired power plants maintain under this bill?
Can utilities build new wind or solar projects and pass the costs to consumers?
What happens if a utility fails to meet the coal utilization or fuel inventory standards?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Jan 30, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Energy and Public Works
- Jan 30, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Jan 30, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Energy and Public Works
- Jan 30, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Fossil-Fuel Baselines and Intermittent Restrictions
The bill couples strict operational floors for coal and natural gas generation with a direct prohibition against cost recovery for new wind and solar infrastructure.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools