From Justice’s Chief of Staff to Appalachian Power, Brian Abraham Takes on West Virginia’s Energy Growth

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Four months after leaving the side of Jim Justice to lead Appalachian Power, Brian Abraham is already finding himself at the center of some of the biggest energy decisions unfolding in West Virginia.

The proposed acquisition of the Longview Power Plant near Morgantown, efforts to secure substantially more natural gas generation, investment in the Mitchell Power Plant and rapidly growing electricity demand from data centers and other large industrial projects have all emerged during Abraham’s first months as president and chief operating officer of Appalachian Power.

It is a significant new role for a West Virginian whose career has already included serving as a county prosecutor, an Army brigadier general and one of the most influential staff members in state government.

Abraham officially joined Appalachian Power on April 13 after serving as chief of staff to Justice, first during Justice’s second term as governor and then after Justice entered the U.S. Senate.

American Electric Power announced Abraham’s appointment in March, citing his legal and public policy experience, familiarity with Appalachia and relationships throughout the region.

He now leads a utility serving about 1.1 million customers across West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, with nearly 2,900 employees and more than 61,000 miles of power lines.

Only a few months into the job, the scale of the position is already becoming apparent.

One of the most significant developments came this summer when American Electric Power, Appalachian Power’s parent company, reached agreements to acquire the Longview Power Plant and the nearby Mountain State Clean Energy development site in Monongalia County.

Longview is a 710-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Maidsville that began operating in 2011, making it one of the newer coal plants in the country.

The Mountain State Clean Energy site also includes key permits for a potential 1,200-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas plant, creating the possibility of significantly more generation at the site in the future.

The transactions remain subject to required federal regulatory approvals.

The distinction between the companies is important. AEP, rather than Appalachian Power itself, is acquiring Longview, and the plant would be owned and operated through AEP’s competitive generation business.

But Abraham has quickly become one of the company’s most visible West Virginia voices discussing what the acquisition represents as electricity demand grows.

The Longview deal comes as utilities prepare for potentially significant new power demand tied to data centers, advanced manufacturing and other large industrial developments.

Abraham has emphasized that the cost of providing electricity and new infrastructure for those large customers should be borne by the new users rather than shifted onto existing residential and business customers.

That issue has become increasingly important as West Virginia seeks to attract major energy-intensive developments while residents continue to closely watch electric rates.

Appalachian Power itself is also looking for significantly more generation.

On Aug. 17, the company issued a request for proposals seeking as much as 1,500 megawatts of combined-cycle natural gas generation.

The company is considering both new and existing facilities capable of supplying electricity into the regional PJM transmission system, with the additional generation expected to be available no later than March 2031.

Appalachian Power also encouraged developers to use West Virginia and Virginia businesses, workers, goods and services as part of the projects.

Additional energy storage is being pursued as well as the utility works to prepare for future capacity and reliability needs.

Abraham’s early tenure has also included investment in power plants Appalachian Power already operates.

In June, the company announced it had been selected for federal funding that could support a major modernization project at the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville.

The 1,560-megawatt plant is jointly owned by Appalachian Power and Kentucky Power. The companies applied for $51 million through a U.S. Department of Energy program to help replace the plant’s nearly 60-year-old natural draft cooling tower with a new mechanical draft system.

The project is intended to improve reliability and reduce the risks associated with aging equipment while extending the usefulness of an existing West Virginia generating asset.

“Our customers count on us every day to deliver power they can depend on at a price they can afford, and that responsibility is at the center of every investment we make,” Abraham said when the project was announced.

Those decisions place Abraham in a much different arena than the one he occupied just a few months ago.

Before joining Appalachian Power, Abraham spent years in West Virginia government.

He initially joined the Justice administration as general counsel before becoming chief of staff during Justice’s second term as governor. When Justice was elected to the U.S. Senate, Abraham continued serving as his chief of staff before leaving for Appalachian Power.

His career before state government was equally varied.

Abraham practiced law and served as the elected prosecuting attorney in Logan County from 1999 to 2009. He also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in Kentucky and Tennessee.

His military career spanned 22 years.

Abraham served on active duty in Iraq with XVIII Airborne Corps as an operational law officer and prosecutor and also served as trial counsel with the 101st Airborne Division.

He eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general in the West Virginia National Guard before retiring from military service.

Abraham earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Fairmont State University, his law degree from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

When AEP announced his appointment, Abraham pointed directly to his West Virginia background in describing how he planned to approach the job.

“As a West Virginia native, I understand both the region and the responsibility that comes with serving our communities,” Abraham said.

His first months in charge are coming at a consequential moment.

West Virginia is pursuing a new generation of industrial and technology investments that could require enormous amounts of electricity. At the same time, utilities must maintain reliability, replace aging infrastructure, secure enough around-the-clock generation and address concerns about affordability for existing customers.

Longview, Mitchell and Appalachian Power’s search for additional natural gas generation are early signs of how Abraham and AEP are preparing for that challenge.

For Abraham, it is the latest chapter in an unusually broad West Virginia career, one that has taken him from Logan County courtrooms and military service in Iraq to the governor’s office, the U.S. Senate and now the leadership of one of Appalachia’s largest electric utilities.