An energy executive warns that new federal regulations could lead to costly upgrades or closure of West Virginia’s coal-fired power plants.

West Virginia is one of 22 states seeking to block U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, including American Electric Power, the parent company of Appalachian Power.

Last month, Gary Spitznogle, AEP’s vice president of environmental services, told the court that complying with wastewater treatment, or effluent, limits could cost $900 million within a decade.

That would cost electricity customers in West Virginia and Virginia $42 to $60 a year, he said.

If AEP fails to comply with the regulation, it would have to close the John Amos and Mountaineer power plants in 2034.

If the company decides to shut down the plants, it must do so by December 31, 2025, Spitznogle said.

Electricity customers in both states have already paid hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize the two power plants.

“The shutdown of these plants due to ELG compliance obligations, just years after requiring the installation of costly new controls, is a bitter pill for our regulatory commissions and electricity customers,” Spitznogle wrote.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission approved the ELG upgrades in 2021 with the expectation that the facilities will remain in operation until 2040.

But even without the regulations in place, the state’s coal industry is struggling economically. An energy analyst recently told the PSC that the AEP Amos, Mountaineer and Mitchell power plants lost $87 million over the past 12 months.

The Mitchell power plant is partially owned by Kentucky Power. Kentucky regulators have not approved upgrades to the Mitchell wastewater treatment plant, meaning West Virginia electricity customers will have to bear the full cost.

According to federal data, the three power plants produced less electricity last year than in any other year since 2001.

Another EPA rule, currently under review in federal court, would require power plants to capture their carbon dioxide emissions or shut them down in 2032.

Meanwhile, Appalachian Power has asked the PSC to increase its base rates by 17 percent, which equates to more than $28 a month for the average residential electricity customer.

The PSC has suspended this tariff increase until May next year, but is considering further, smaller increases that the company has sought.

Federal data show that wind and solar power will overtake coal in U.S. electricity production this year. Natural gas replaced coal as the country’s top fuel in 2016.