FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) Thursday said its Allegheny Energy Supply subsidiary has notified PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization, of its plan to deactivate the coal-fired Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.
The company said the 1,300-megawatt plant will be sold or closed on January 1, 2019. The plant deactivation is subject to PJM's review for reliability impacts, if any.
The decision to deactivate the plant impacts about 190 employees. Affected employees may be eligible to receive severance benefits.
FirstEnergy subsidiary Mon Power filed a plan in March 2017 seeking regulatory approval to acquire the Pleasants Power Station. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the proposal on January 12, 2018. The Public Service Commission of West Virginia approved the sale subject to a number of significant conditions. Those conditions, combined with the FERC rejection, make the proposed transfer unworkable.
"Closing Pleasants is a very difficult choice because of the talented employees dedicated to reliable operation of the station and the communities who have supported the facility for many years. But the recent federal and West Virginia decisions leave FirstEnergy no reasonable option but to expeditiously move forward with deactivation of the plant," said Charles Jones, FirstEnergy president and chief executive officer. "We will continue to pursue opportunities to sell the plant while planning for deactivation."
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