Appalachian Power is seeking state regulatory approval to build a battery energy storage system in Southwest Virginia to improve service reliability on what the utility says is one of its worst-performing circuits.
The $57.3 million project would create two battery energy storage sites, one each in Smyth and Grayson counties, totaling 7.5 megawatts of capacity, Appalachian said in a filing with the State Corporation Commission.
A battery energy storage system draws electricity from the grid and stores it to be used as needed, such as during outages or periods of peak demand. This system would serve around 2,790 customers on Appalachian’s Glade-Whitetop circuit, which traverses approximately 260 miles on a mountain range and is difficult to reach for repairs.
“The circuit accumulated over 4.2 million customer minutes of interruption in 2022, making it one of the worst performing distribution circuits in the Company’s system from a reliability perspective,” Appalachian said in its filing.
During an outage, the battery energy storage system could supply electricity to as many as 1,390 customers until necessary repairs are made or the battery system itself runs out of power, Appalachian said.
Besides improving reliability, Appalachian said the battery storage system could reduce costs by operating during periods when customer demand is high, reducing the need for other sources of power generation.
Appalachian proposes that the Smyth County site would be on a 2-acre piece of land at the intersection of Laurel Valley Road and Serenity Cove Road in Troutdale. The property is owned by adjacent Washington County and is the location of Washington County’s Konnarock Community Manned Solid Waste Convenience Station.
The Grayson County site is proposed for a portion of a privately owned 22-acre piece of farmland north of U.S. 58.
Appalachian Power said it has secured options to purchase both sites.
While the estimated project cost tops $57 million, Appalachian said upgrading reliability in the area using traditional methods instead would cost around $64 million.
An Appalachian Power spokesperson said recovering the cost of the project would directly add about 60 cents to each customer’s monthly bill, but customers likely wouldn’t see that expense for two years. The utility said it plans to file to recover the project costs at a later date.
It’s too early to tell whether the cost savings the utility anticipates from operating the battery energy storage system would offset that 60-cent increase, said spokesperson Teresa Hamilton Hall.
Appalachian said the battery energy storage system would be the first of several as it works to meet a target of petitioning the SCC for approval of at least 25 megawatts of storage by Dec. 31, 2025. The Virginia Clean Economy Act, passed in 2020, mandates that Appalachian petition the SCC for approval to build or acquire 400 megawatts of new, utility-owned energy storage by the end of 2035.
The State Corporation Commission has scheduled a telephone public hearing on the project for 10 a.m. June 11.
Anyone who wants to comment during the hearing should, by June 5, fill out a form on the SCC website, email a PDF version of the completed form to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov, or call 804-371-9141. Comments can also be submitted via the SCC’s website, or by mail to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, VA 23218-2118. All comments should reference case No. PUR-2024-00001.
