Appalachian Power Plans $17B for 3 GW of WV Gas by 2031

The governor's office said in its release that the gas build is expected to create approximately 2,050 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs. According to POWER Magazine, Morrisey said in a video announcement that the three projects will be "geographically dispersed" across the state, and that sites and other details will come later. The coal money covers upgrades to existing stations, which POWER lists as John Amos in Winfield, the 1.3 GW Mountaineer in New Haven and the 1.6 GW Mitchell in Moundsville.

For power buyers and PJM planners, the number to hold is 3 GW targeted for 2031. The governor's office says the announcement surpasses the roughly 2.9 GW John Amos plant announcement of the early 1970s as the largest single generation announcement by capacity in West Virginia history; it is an announced program, not built capacity. Neither the release nor the reports say how much of that capacity is meant for data centers, so the supply is not yet tied to any named large load. West Virginia Public Broadcasting reported that Morrisey framed the buildout as a way to attract fast-growing industries such as AI and advanced manufacturing.

What was announced, and what was not

The release does not give the plants' size individually, their technology (combined-cycle or simple-cycle), their sites, their in-service years within the 2031 window, or the filing path. The 2031 date is a target in a governor's announcement, not a regulatory approval.

The announcement belongs to Morrisey's "50 by 50" initiative, launched in September 2025, which aims for 50 GW of generating capacity in West Virginia by 2050; POWER puts today's base at about 16 GW. The governor's office says the new gas plants bring announced additions to 11.67 GW, which it puts at more than 34 percent of the capacity needed. It also puts private-sector investment announced since October 2025 at $113.6 billion.

Price pledge and how it compares

The governor's office said the work will proceed under his ratepayer protection pledge, so infrastructure costs are not shifted onto existing residential and business customers, and that electricity prices will not rise because of these initiatives. How that is enforced was not described in the release. According to POWER, Morrisey said "we've been assured" that prices will not rise and that he would look to enforce the pledge "any way I can."

Projects POWER lists elsewhere in the state run from 600 MW to 2.1 GW each, against Appalachian Power's 3 GW across three plants not yet sized. They include FirstEnergy's Mon Power proposal for a 1.2 GW combined-cycle plant at Fort Martin, estimated at $2.5 billion and projected to open in late 2031, and Competitive Power Ventures' 2.1 GW Shay Energy Center in Doddridge County, set to start construction next year. Kindle Energy's 600 MW Wolf Summit project in Harrison County broke ground earlier this year. The $17 billion and the Fort Martin estimate cannot be compared per kilowatt until the company states what its figure covers.

Voltgrid has covered related gas and utility stories in BNEF's estimate of data-center gas plant emissions, the sale of 4.9 GW of gas plants by NRG to LS Power and the minimum-bill tariffs AEP Ohio and Dominion set for data centers.

How a gas plant gets from announcement to power

A new gas plant is announced long before it is approved. In West Virginia, state law requires a utility to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Service Commission before it begins construction, so a governor's announcement is not a permit.

Appalachian Power's plan is at the earliest stage: the governor's release gives $17 billion, 3 GW and an expected 2031 operating date, but no sites, technology or unit sizes. Plants that POWER lists are further along, such as Wolf Summit, which broke ground this year, and the proposed 1.2 GW Fort Martin plant, projected to open in late 2031. Until a filing names sites and sizes, 3 GW by 2031 is a target, not firm supply for PJM.

What is not confirmed yet

Plant locations, technology, unit sizes and the regulatory route have not been published; the plants would typically need Public Service Commission approval under state law, and no filing was found. A search of the last day found no Appalachian Power or American Electric Power statement or filing adding detail beyond the governor's announcement, so every figure here comes from the governor's office as reported by POWER and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The jobs figure differs by outlet: the governor's release says about 2,050 construction jobs, POWER says more than 2,000, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting quoted the governor at an estimated 2,100. Watch for a commission filing, the site announcements the governor promised, and any large-load customer named for the 3 GW.