FirstEnergy utilities' upgrades in West Virginia a win-win for all

FirstEnergy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison are taking advantage of a bill passed by the West Virginia Legislature earlier this year that allows utilities to recoup the costs of power-plant upgrades more quickly if the upgrades will lead to more coal-mining jobs.
 
“West Virginia’s coal industry has suffered a great deal under the Obama administration over the past eight years,” West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney said. “There are 11,000 coal miners not working today who should be. We have to do whatever we can here in West Virginia to help our electric companies meet the demands imposed on them by a radicalized federal regulatory system. The leaders of the Legislature realize this and are working hard to find ways to keep West Virginians working.”
 
Mon Power and Potomac Edison recently installed emissions-control measures at the Harrison and Fort Martin Power Stations, which bring them into compliance with new, stricter emissions regulations while still operating on coal mined in West Virginia.
 
“First Energy’s investment in upgrades to their power plants likely wouldn’t have happened and the facilities would simply have been closed had it not been for what the Legislature did earlier this year,” Raney said. “We thank them for their efforts to protect West Virginia jobs.”