The Kentucky Public Service Commission has approved a $191 million cooling tower replacement project at a coal-fired power plant near Moundsville, West Virginia, co-owned by Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power. According to Kentucky Lantern, the approval is contingent in part on the availability of a $51 million federal grant to help offset construction costs. Regulators cited safety concerns surrounding the aging cooling tower, including the risk of failure during extreme weather. Kentucky Power says the investment will help maintain reliable electricity service. The utility could seek to recover project costs through a future rate case, but no customer rate increase was approved as part of this decision. The project comes as Kentucky Power undergoes a regulatory audit examining its operations and planning for customers across its 20-county Eastern Kentucky service area. Source: Kentucky Lantern #AppalachiaInsider #EasternKentucky #KentuckyPower #ElectricRates #PublicServiceCommission #KentuckyNews