PSC Adds Public Comment Hearing On Pleasants Power Station

Mon Power has proposed to operate the Pleasants Power Station for 12 months beginning in June while it determines whether purchasing the plant is in the best interest of the company.

Steam rises from the two cooling towers at the Pleasants Power Station, with emissions from burning coal pouring out of a tall stack equipped with scrubbers.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission will have a public comment hearing next week on the future of the Pleasants Power Station.

The hearing will take place on April 20 at 3:30 p.m. in Charleston.

Mon Power has proposed to operate the Pleasants Power Station for 12 months beginning in June while it determines whether purchasing the plant is in the best interests of the company.

If the plan is approved, Mon Power’s 395,000 customers will pay a monthly surcharge of about 2.2 percent in most cases. For a typical residential user, that’s about $2.67.

Otherwise, the 1,300-megawatt coal burning power plant will shut down at the end of May.

State lawmakers and local leaders have rallied to save the plant, its jobs and tax revenue.

Consumer and environmental groups oppose keeping Pleasants afloat at the expense of ratepayers and question the need for Mon Power to operate three plants in West Virginia.

The PSC is also having an evidentiary hearing on the matter on April 21.

Author: Curtis Tate

Curtis is our Energy & Environment Reporter, based in Charleston. He has spent more than 17 years as a reporter and copy editor for Gannett, Dow Jones and McClatchy. He has written extensively about travel, transportation and Congress for USA TODAY, The Bergen Record, The Lexington Herald-Leader, The Wichita Eagle, The Belleville News-Democrat and The Sacramento Bee. You can reach him at ctate@wvpublic.org.

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