The Clay County Commission has asked the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) to investigate Black Diamond Power over persistent outages, billing issues, and poor service quality – despite a previous rate hike. The request follows a public hearing on the utility’s proposed $1.2 million rate increase, which would raise residential bills by about $11 a month. Commissioners also urged the PSC to consider transferring service responsibility to Appalachian Power.
Newsman Aaron Parker filed a full report.
Residents want reliable electric service – a reasonable expectation. Utilities seek rate increases when revenues can’t cover costs – also reasonable. And an investigation is reasonable too, to determine whether the company is meeting whatever reliability standards the PSC has set.
If every party is reasonable, why is there still a problem? The answer, if we can set emotion aside, may lie in seeing this not as a problem but an opportunity – one that demands an open mind and looking past symptoms to the root cause.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Clay County’s population has been shrinking for decades – down 24 percent since 2000. As of 2022, the county’s population stood at just 7,800. The 65-and-older group grew 23.7 percent during that time. The 35–49 age group dropped 42.6 percent.
The economy tells a similar story. The county’s 2023 poverty rate hovered near 25 percent. Over 2,300 people were listed as unemployed that same year – roughly 30 percent of the total population, not just of the workforce.
Then there’s population density. Clay spans 342 square miles. Nearby Putnam County covers about the same – 346 square miles – but Clay has just 23 people per square mile compared to Putnam’s 166.
The numbers paint a clear picture that few want to discuss: the need for relocation.
Facing Reality
Before anyone tunes out – I don’t like the topic either. But West Virginia can’t afford denial. We don’t have the money to pretend population loss doesn’t matter. It’s crushing. And raising taxes on the fewer people who stay will only speed the decline.
When a county has just 23 people per square mile but must maintain power lines, roads, and water systems across all that terrain, the math doesn’t work. Infrastructure costs don’t shrink with the population – they spread thinner. And Clay’s rugged topography only adds cost.
The economic output tells the rest of the story.
- Clay County GDP per square mile: $460,000
- Putnam County GDP per square mile: $8.46 million
That’s an 18-to-1 difference. Normally economic density on its own might not mean all that much. Other variables can mitigate a low number. But when combined with Clay’s demographic and poverty challenges, it’s a warning siren blaring at full volume. It’s been going off for a while now.
What Can Be Done?
You can’t make infrastructure cheaper. It costs what it costs.
Asking Appalachian Power to take over Clay’s service area – unpopular as it may sound – would effectively ask other counties and their residents to shoulder the load of Clay’s burden. That’s not a sustainable fix either. How many struggling power or water utilities can be absorbed by healthy companies until they too become ill?
But doing nothing isn’t an option. These are our fellow West Virginians.
That leaves a third path: re-envision Clay County’s footprint.
An electric reliability problem in this case is a lens bringing the larger, looming problem into focus. That’s where our attention should be directed.
Encouraging residents to relocate – and providing a financial means of doing so – into the town of Clay for example could make infrastructure more viable and service delivery more efficient.
Denser population centers make it easier for small businesses to take root, for utilities to operate, and for communities to thrive.
It would require federal resources as well and high levels of coordination and execution. It might not be on the level of the Manhattan Project, but it won’t be an easy lift.
It’s not about abandoning Clay County — it’s about saving it.
The Hard Truth
West Virginians love their land, their hills, their hollers — and for good reason. But if we want rural counties like Clay to survive, we must be willing to rethink what “community” looks like.
Isn’t it better to see people relocated into a stronger, more sustainable town of Clay — than to see no Clay County at all?
If nothing else, let this piece start a conversation. And if it earns me a little backlash, I can live with that — knowing it came from a place of genuine concern for the greater good and the betterment of my fellow Mountaineers.
Editor’s Note: The PSC yesterday afternoon, Oct. 16, initiated a general investigation in Black Diamond Power. A release was issued after this commentary was drafted.