“I’m not one of these coal or nothing people. You’ve got to diversify your energy,” said Mr. Zeigler, a physical-therapist assistant. He and his wife have spent less on clothes, restaurants and vacations as their bills climbed, he said. Jason Zeigler, whose electricity bill hit $368 this spring for his 2,000-square-foot house just outside Huntington, W.Va., says, ‘You’ve got to diversify your energy.’ Utility rates have been rising for years in West Virginia, where coal has long played an outsize role in the economy. Keeping mines open has been a priority, even as jobs in the industry have dwindled and coal-fired power plants elsewhere have closed. While electricity rates have risen nationally due to higher costs for fuel and environmental upgrades, among other things, rates have risen faster in West Virginia than most other states, as the state has clung to coal generation. A governor-appointed commission that sets utility […]