Black Diamond Power Hearing Halted in McDowell County Amid PSC Investigation

Company counsel told the West Virginia Public Service Commission in Charleston that Black Diamond Power President David Musser intends to sell the company, and PSC Chair Charlotte Lane suspended the evidentiary hearing for two months to allow parties to negotiate a sale. Chair Lane directed that the parties "meet and confer and reach an agreement on the sale of Black Diamond and come back to the commission either with a final agreement or a framework agreement."

PSC staff will continue its separate investigation into complaints about Black Diamond’s billing practices and service reliability, with final recommendations due to the Commission by April 15, 2026. PSC staff attorney Victoria Wilson asked the Commission to let staff "continue its investigation and continue with the deadlines that are currently set," noting that keeping the April 15 timetable would allow staff to proceed "in case negotiations fail" and provide recommendations for the Commission.

At the hearing counsel said Black Diamond has already engaged in talks with Appalachian Power Company and that company counsel had spoken with AEP counsel immediately before the session. Counsel stated, "There hasn’t been any sort of proposal or anything submitted yet, but Black Diamond is ready to consider any proposals, and I’ve spoken with counsel for Appalachian Power just before this hearing, and we’re ready to schedule some meetings to move things forward on that process." Multiple outlets report the counsel as David Hanna; several others spell the name David Hannah.

Black Diamond serves roughly 5,000 customers across Clay, Wyoming and Raleigh counties and currently buys its power from Appalachian Power under a purchase-power agreement. Company filings and hearing remarks indicate the utility has no majority shareholder; Musser, as president, told the Commission he would present any acceptable proposals to the remaining shareholders for approval.

The sale announcement came amid a PSC general investigation launched last October after customer complaints about frequent outages and fluctuating bills. Community Care of West Virginia filed a formal complaint citing reliability problems at its Clay facility, and its counsel Edward J. George urged the Commission to "keep close watch during negotiations" to protect customers and critical services.

Local elected officials and customers pressed the need for upgrades. Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh County, called a sale a "long-awaited turning point" and argued Black Diamond "hasn't kept up with the maintenance on their electrical grid system at all," adding that "AEP is going to have to put a lot of money into the power grid." At a Clay public hearing residents like Richard Workman pressed for infrastructure fixes, saying, "I think it's time we get some upgraded lines so we can get proper amperage to our houses." A resident identified only as "Johnson" described financial strain from outages, noting, "We can't afford to keep replacing things like that either, and that's us ... I know the individuals, they're strapped."

Procedurally, the Commission's two-month suspension requires the parties to return with either a final purchase agreement or a framework that includes an outline of expected expenditures to stabilize Black Diamond's system. As of the suspended hearing no formal buyer had filed any proposal with state regulators. The PSC staff deadline of April 15, 2026 remains in place as the Commission weighs sale negotiations alongside its investigation.