Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
CHARLESTON, W.VA. - Today, Sierra Club released its sixth Dirty Truth Report. This year, the three West Virginia utilities included in the report – Appalachian Power, MonPower (Monongahela Power), and Wheeling Power – all earned “F” grades for failing to retire coal plants and onboard cost-saving clean energy. Despite their stated commitments to affordability and environmental stewardship, the three utilities each earned a 0 out of 100 points.
The report grades utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning to build, and how much renewable energy they are adding. Collectively, the 50 parent companies studied in the 2026 Dirty Truth report scored just 7 points out of 100, earning an F, and the lowest score ever in the history of the report.
See the Full Report on the Dirty Truth Website.
Together, the three West Virginia utilities covered in the report operate seven aging coal plants. For its part, Charleston-based Appalachian Power (APCo) plans to indefinitely run its coal units at the John Amos and Mountaineer Generating Stations. MonPower operates the Harrison and Fort Martin Coal Plants and co-owns or purchases power from three other coal plants, all of which the company is considering continuing operations at well beyond previously proposed retirement dates. Lastly, Wheeling Power operates the Mitchell Generating Station, a coal plant whose life the utility proposes to extend by investing millions of dollars.
In addition to their combined 10,312 MW of existing coal and gas power, APCo, MonPower, and Wheeling Power plan to add 2,187 WV of new gas to their energy portfolios by 2035. The utilities have used speculative data center proposals to justify expanding gas generation and keeping existing coal power plants online well past their useful lives.
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and gas remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite these facts, the Dirty Truth Report shows that West Virginia utilities are doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This choice means higher bills for families and more dangerous pollution.
“Now is a critical time in West Virginia’s long history with energy production and its impacts on our communities’ quality of life and wellbeing,” said Lisa Di Bartolomeo, Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Organizer in West Virginia. “Burning more coal means more expensive retrofits to decades-old plants, higher bills, more pollution of our local air and waterways, and increasingly dangerous floods and other extreme weather events. Burning more gas poses a volatile financial risk to families and small businesses who may pay to power data centers that never arrive. Rather than doubling down on coal and gas that bring profits to polluting corporations, utilities must advance forward-looking, affordable clean energy solutions that better serve everyday customers looking to power their homes and care for their families.”
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
View the full report on the Dirty Truth Report Website or here.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.