State Senate committee to hold hearing on power plant closings
State Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, said the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee has accepted his request to hold a hearing in Waynesburg to examine the effects that the planned shutdown of area power plants could have on the overall reliability of the electric grid and on consumers.
The hearing will take place in the third-floor conference room of Stover Campus Center on the campus of Waynesburg University at 10 a.m. Friday. Representatives of the state Public Utility Commission, FirstEnergy Corp. and PJM Interconnection are scheduled to appear and answer questions about the planned closure, which will directly affect 380 jobs at the plants and indirectly affect thousands more.
In July, FirstEnergy announced its intention to deactivate the Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Greene County and Mitchell Power Station in Washington County, citing the cost of complying with new federal regulations and low market prices for electricity.
“There are still some critical questions about how the closure of these two plants could affect electric consumers in the region. The plants produce ten percent of FirstEnergy’s power output, and it is still unclear how customers will be affected,” Solobay said. “The hearing is another step in the effort to ensure that we are doing everything we can to examine the potential consequences of the closing and try to prevent it.”
The Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee is chaired by Sen. Robert M. Tomlinson, a Bucks County Republican. The Democratic chairwoman is Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County. Sen. Matt Smith of Mt. Lebanon, Sen. Jim Ferlo of Pittsburgh and Solobay are members.