Opinion ID: 1410812
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Allegheny Power Holds Itself out to the Public as a Public Utility

Text: Allegheny Power's sale of the Blackwater Canyon should be subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission for a simple reason: Allegheny Power holds itself out to the public as a single, unified public utility company. I am at a loss to understand how a company can act and make profits under the guise of being one company, but, when it comes to taking responsibility, say that its smaller subsidiary companiescompanies that exist only on papershould be the focus of attention. This is an illusion, and justice demands that the people be allowed to look behind an illusion. We said in Syllabus Point 3 of Wilhite v. Public Service Commission, 150 W.Va. 747, 149 S.E.2d 273 (1966) that the test as to whether or not a corporation is a public utility involves look[ing] at what is being done, not to what the utility or person says it is doing. (Emphasis added.) Basically, the Public Service Commission should look at whether the corporation is holding itself out as being engaged in the business of supplying... its product or services to the public as a class.... In this case, when it is to its own benefit, Allegheny Power holds itself out as being engaged in the business of supplying electricity to West Virginia consumers. [1] Conversely, when it wants to avoid government regulation, Allegheny Power claims that it is only a holding company that has never been involved in the electricity business. [2] Allegheny Power says that West Penn Power Company (the owner of West Virginia Power and Transmission Company, and thus the owner of the Blackwater Canyon property) was once a separate, independent companybut West Penn has now been replaced by a company called Allegheny Power. On its Internet home page (http://www.alleghenypower.com), Allegheny Power says that Some of you have known us in the past as Monongahela Power, Potomac Edison, or West Penn Power.... Now we're Allegheny Power. We changed our name and the way we do business so we can remain strong and competitive among the nation's electric utility companies. (Emphasis added.) Thus, in its own writings, Allegheny Power calls itself an electric utility compan[y]. Allegheny Power also acts like an electric utility company. Still, the Public Service Commission ignored Allegheny Power's public statements and actions. Instead, the Public Service Commission relied upon Allegheny Power's courtroom statements that it isn't an electric utility company, but rather is merely a holding company that owns stock in several utility companies. Applying the Public Service Commission's reasoning, when the king says he is fully clothed, we must all agreeeven though he is standing there buck naked. In other Allegheny Power writings, the company discusses its commitment to the environment in West Virginia. Each time Allegheny Power talks about itself as one utility company, not as a holding company for several smaller utilities. For example, one brochure posted on Allegheny Power's Internet home page states that, At Allegheny Power, environmental stewardship and leadership is not just something we talk about, it's our commitment.... Because at Allegheny Power, we believe it's our responsibility to protect the environment for our Company, our customers, and for future generations. Allegheny Power, before this Court and the Public Service Commission, claims it owns no power generating plants, sells no electricity, and is therefore not a public utility. Yet, when it is to the benefit of Allegheny's public image, the company says about a power plant located in Haywood, West Virginia, Harrison Power Station, Allegheny Power's largest generating plant, is home to some of the most sophisticated air pollution-control equipment.... (Emphasis added). At another point in the same brochure, Allegheny Power touts a program that  takes place in our West Virginia service territory.  (Emphasis added) Power plants typically make electricity for public consumption. The term service territory implies that public service is being supplied to a region. I am therefore at a loss to understand how Allegheny Power can claim to own a large power generating plant and have a West Virginia service territory, and still not be a public utility subject to Public Service Commission jurisdiction.