Appalachian Power Co. has asked Virginia regulators for permission to charge customers for the cost of developing a site for a potential small modular reactor at its Joshua Falls property in Campbell County, Cardinal News reported on November 5.
If the State Corporation Commission approves the request, an average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would see a bill increase of $1.98, or about 2 percent, from October 2027 through September 2028. That would let the company recover $20.6 million in the first of the six years it expects to finance the project. Appalachian Power estimates site development will cost about $100 million, and a state law passed in 2024 caps the amount the utility can recover from customers at $125 million in total. The company said it is also seeking federal funding from the US Department of Energy to reduce what customers pay.
The cost recovery covers site development only. The work includes site suitability studies, permitting and licensing applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, public outreach, and meetings with landowners and local officials. Appalachian Power first announced its intent to explore a reactor at Joshua Falls in November 2024 and has said it would likely come online in the mid- to late 2030s if all approvals are granted.
Cardinal News reported that State Corporation Commission staff raised the possibility last year, in a separate but related proceeding, that customers could pay site development costs for a reactor that is never built. Across the James River in Amherst County, Charlotte-based Geenex Power announced a proposal in October to develop a small modular reactor on a cattle farm property. Geenex said it chose the location in part because of its proximity to Appalachian Power's Joshua Falls electric substation, which it said could handle the reactor's output.
Source: Cardinal News - https://cardinalnews.org/2026/11/05/appalachian-power-asks-to-charge-customers-for-nuclear-reactor-site-development/