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Energize Your Growth

The fifth largest energy producer in America, West Virginia is an international hub for energy and chemicals production. The reasons are myriad. Strategic location. Low business costs. Skilled and motivated workforce. Home to industry standard-bearers, Chemical Alliance Zone and Polymer Alliance Zone. The state sits in the Appalachian Basin, where shale formations in Marcellus, Rogersville and Utica create abundant natural gas reserves. West Virginia’s vast territory supports storage fields and holds a dense network of transmission lines. Its energy resources feed the state’s thriving chemical and polymer industries, clustered around active chemical industrial parks throughout the state.

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Strike Up a Partnership with AEP’s Economic Development Team

In our West Virginia service territory, companies like Toyota, Alcon, Rubberlite and Constellium fulfill their power needs through our operating company, Appalachian Power. Let’s talk about how we can partner with you.

Contact Heather Vanater, Manager of Economic and Business Development

  • It’s my mission to help West Virginia businesses grow and prosper. I bring resources to the table to help you succeed. Those resources could be economic development partners, potential suppliers or customers, or energy solutions to help your business be more cost competitive. I will use my connections to get you the support you need.
  • Before joining our operating company, Appalachian Power, I served as a project director for a local economic development organization in West Virginia, overseeing business retention and expansion as well as recruitment of new industries. In this role, I secured more than $1 million in grants and fundraising to recruit businesses. I’ve also served in the West Virginia Department of Commerce as a manager for business retention and expansion for a 12-country region.
  • I am a board member of the Polymer Alliance Zone, which has one of the highest concentrations of high technology, specialty and engineering polymers production in the world, and the West Virginia Economic Development Council. I am an alumnus of Leadership West Virginia and a member of the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC).

Lay of the Land

Appalachian Power serves over 74,000 commercial and industrial customers across nearly half of West Virginia’s counties, covering 9,200 square miles.

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Key Industries in West Virginia

Advanced Manufacturing

Aerospace & Aviation

Automotive

Energy & Chemicals

Logistics

Metals

Boundless Advantages

Welcome to West Virginia. Thanks to its pro-business climate, the Mountain State is the #1 state in the country for economic growth. We think West Virginia is a great place to grow business. Here are a few reasons why our customers think so, too.

The Port of Huntington/Tri-State is the nation’s largest inland port, handling 80+ million tons annually.

Over half of the U.S. and Canadian populations can be reached within one day’s truck drive from West Virginia.

Interstate freeways, I-64, I-77, and I-79, offer direct access to markets nationwide and Canada.

A network of river terminals links to ports on the Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

2,400 miles of freight railway lines deliver goods to markets everywhere.

West Virginia is ranked 1st in Overall Economic Growth (GDP) by Gobanking Rates, 2019.

For more, visit the West Virginia Development Office.

Power in West Virginia

Appalachian Power’s distribution and transmission offerings can accommodate large industrial users. We are ready to support your growth from day one. Here’s how.

Competitive Rates

Affordable power for your operations.

West Virginia Economic Development Incentives

We provide lower costs to companies that create new demand of 500 kilowatts (kW) or more, add 10 jobs or more, or invest at least $2.5 million in their West Virginia expansion. This cuts your electric service costs by roughly 15 percent.

Special Contract Options

Our special contract rates, including interruptible rates, give extra savings to large electric load customers.

Custom Energy Solutions

We offer advisory services for industrial process improvements, renewable generation and more. We’ll customize our energy capabilities to meet your unique needs.

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Proximity Map

Featured Site

Bradley Square

This site has 108.05 sub-dividable acres, 82.37 of which are developable. With access to long-haul fiber and short-haul providers, along with multiple electric supply and abundant capacity, this site is well suited for a data center. Construction could be completed within 18 months.

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See All West Virginia Sites