The Future of Pleasants Power Station: Public Input and Company Interest.

The State Public Service Commission is deciding the fate of the Pleasants Power Station, a coal-fired power plant in West Virginia that is targeted for closure by Energy Harbor. First Energy subsidiaries Mon Power and Potomac Edison are potentially interested in buying the plant, but they want their rate payers to subsidize the power plant’s operation during the year-long analysis. The Pleasants Power Station issue is emblematic of the difficulties associated with the transition in electricity generation that is happening in this country, as power companies move away from coal and natural gas power plants to lower their CO2 emissions and to meet customer demands for more electricity generated by renewables.