Public Forum to Be Held on Energy & How it Relates to W.Va.'s Economy

Representatives of the coal and gas industry as well as solar are expected to speak at a public forum in Martinsburg next week. The forum is about energy and how it relates to West Virginia’s economy.

This forum is titled, “Flipping the Switch: the Business of Energy and West Virginia.” Panelists include Mike McKenchnie, president of Mountain View Solar in Berkeley Springs; Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association; and Chris Hamilton, senior vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association.

Julia Krall is the chair of the Student MBA Advisory Council at Shepherd University and the organizer of the forum. She hopes it gives people living in the Eastern Panhandle a chance to ask questions.

“I feel like this is an opportunity to bring together some of the decision makers who spend a lot more time in Charleston and kind of forget us over here a little bit,” Krall said, “and really get the people who are making decisions and making policies about our energy choices in the state and actually putting them in front of the public and really creating this community, sort of dialogue where questions can be answered, and you know there really can be a connection between the decisions that are made and how they affect our economy, our local businesses, and so on.”

“Flipping the Switch: the Business of Energy and West Virginia” will begin at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, March 25^th at the McFarland House in Martinsburg. The forum is free and open to the public, but registration is required due to limited seating.