SB 424 — Establishing Affordable Electricity and Economic Growth Act of 2026

CS for SB 424 WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for Senate Bill 424 By Senators Hart, Fuller, Helton, Phillips, Rose, Willis, and Z.

Maynard [Introduced[Reported January 15,30, 2026;2026, from the Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining] CS for SB 424 A BILL to amend and reenact §5B-2O-1, §5B-2O-2, §5B-2O-3, and §5B-2O-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;

referred to the Committee on Energy, Industry, and Mining;

and then to the Committee on Finance] Intr SB 424 2026R2046 A BILL to amend and reenact §5B-2O-1, §5B-2O-2, §5B-2O-3, and §5B-2O-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;

(3) In developing regulatory actions and identifying appropriate approaches to encourage development of coal electric generation and coke production projects, agencies should attempt to Intr1 CS for SB 424 2026R2046 promote coordination, simplification, and harmonization.

and (5) The West Virginia Department Division of Economic Development established in §5B-2-1§5B- 2-1 et seq.

(d) The Legislature declares that the value of government agencies such as the DepartmentDivision of Economic Development is contingent upon their ability to implement directives from Intr SB 424 2026R2046 this code in a 2 CS for SB 424 manner consistent with the stated purpose and that transparency and accountability within all government agencies is a prerequisite for the continued relevance, funding, and existence of the agencies.

(a) The Department Division of Economic Development is authorized and directed to identify economically viable sites within the state that are, respectively:

(1) Located near a convenient and sufficient supply of thermal coal for power generation and metallurgical coal for producing cokingcoke as used in making steel.

(b) The Department Division of Economic Development shall use the following criteria in identifying economically viable sites for coal electric generation projects:

and (4) Geographic locations that can demonstrate that allowable emission increases from one Intr3 CS for SB 424 2026R2046 or more coal electric generation facilities, in conjunction with all other applicable emission increases or reductions, including secondary emissions, would not cause or contribute to air pollution in violation of:

(c) The DepartmentDivision of Economic Development shall use the following criteria in identifying economically viable sites for coke production projects:

(3) Geographic locations that fulfill the air quality conditions imposed by the Division of Air Quality of the West Virginia DepartmentDivision of Environmental Protection for coke producing facilities;

and (4) Geographic locations that can demonstrate that allowable emission increases from one or more coke producing facilities, in conjunction with all other applicable emission increases or reductionsreductions, (includingincluding secondary emissions),emissions, would not cause or contribute to air pollution in violation of:

(b) Any application for a siting certificate pursuant to §24-2-11c of the West Virginia this code filed with the Public Service Commission for development of a coal electric generation or Intr SB 424 2026R2046 coke production project at a Designated Site shall be adjudicated, inclusive of public hearings, and a final order issued by the Public Service Commission, within 270 calendar days after the date of the filing of the application, notwithstanding the requirements of any other provision of this code.

(c) Nothing in this section is intended to preclude, modify, or establish new Public Service Commission jurisdiction over:

(1) Any exercise of powers, duties, and obligations pursuant to the West Virginia Public Energy Authority Act;

and or (2) The right of end-user consumers of electricity to develop, invest in, or otherwise contract for on-site electric self-generation or cogeneration facilities, including those utilizing coal as a fuel source.

(3) (d) This section does not:

(1) Alter, modify and/or or cancel any existing cogeneration tariffs tariff authorized by the Public Service Commission, nor (4) This section does not (2) Authorize the sale of electricity to end-users in the state.

(d) (e) Where a designated site has been identified, in accordance with §22-5-11c of this code, as a location where additional data would be helpful for modeling or other evaluation of the potential emission of a coal generation project, the Department of Economic Development shall construct such facilities as are necessary to acquire such data.

(a) Following identification of economically viable sites that may be suitable for coal electric generation or coke production projects, the Department Division of Economic Development shall 4 CS for SB 424 identify and designate each site it has determined to be suitable for coal electric generation or coke production projects as a "Designated Site," and shall communicate the Designated Sites to the West Virginia Department Division of Environmental Protection’s Division of Air Quality and, in the case of coal electric generation, the West Virginia Public Service Commission as sites suitable for the construction and operation of coal electric generation projects.

Intr SB 424 2026R2046 (b) Any application for a siting certificate pursuant to §24-2-11c of the West Virginia this code filed with the Public Service Commission for development of a coal electric generation or coke production project at a Designated Site shall be adjudicated, inclusive of public hearings, and a final order issued by the Public Service Commission, within 270 calendar days after the date of the filing of the application, notwithstanding the requirements of any other provision of this code.

(1) Alter, modifymodify, and/or or cancel any existing cogeneration tariffs tariff authorized by the Public Service Commission,Commission; nor (4) This section does not (2) Authorize the sale of electricity to end-users in the state.

(d)nor (e)(4) WhereThis asection designateddoes sitenot has(2) beenAuthorize identified, in accordance with §22-5-11c of this code, as a location where additional data would be helpful for modeling or other evaluation of the potentialsale emission of aelectricity coalto generationend-users project,in the Departmentstate. of Economic Development shall construct such facilities as are necessary to acquire such data.

(d) (e) Where a designated site has been identified, in accordance with §22-5-11c of this code, as a location where additional data would be helpful for modeling or other evaluation of the potential emission of a coal generation project, the Department Division of Economic Development shall construct such facilities as are necessary to acquire such data.

Timeframe and performance criteria for DepartmentDivision of Economic Development.

5 CS for SB 424 (a) The DepartmentDivision of Economic Development shall submit a preliminary report to the Joint Committee on EnergyGovernment and ManufacturingFinance noon lateror thanbefore December 31, 2026, outlining a minimum of four initial locations under considerationconsideration, each for coal electrical generation and coke production,production facility, respectively.

(1) Two of the four locations considered for coal electrical generation shall be from a Intr SB 424 2026R2046 geographical area north of Interstate 64, and two of the four locations considered for electrical generation shall be from a geographical area south of Interstate 64.

(b) The DepartmentDivision of Economic Development shall identify and designate at least one site each pursuant to §5B-2O-4 of this codearticle for coal electric generation and coke production, respectively, and submit a report to the Joint Committee on EnergyGovernment and ManufacturingFinance regarding the designation noon lateror thanbefore December 31, 2026.

(c) The DepartmentDivision of Economic Development shall identify and designate at least one additional coal electric generation site and one coke production site per year for the subsequent five-year period following calendar year 2026.

NOTE:

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Affordable Electricity and Economic Growth Act of 2026 to facilitate coke production and steelmaking in the state.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.