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FirstEnergy utilities to terminate W.Va. coal plant transfer

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FirstEnergy utilities to terminate W.Va. coal plant transfer

FirstEnergy Corp. utility subsidiaries Monongahela Power Co. and Potomac Edison Co. told West Virginia regulators they will drop a plan to assume ownership of a coal-fired power plant from an unregulated affiliate company after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the proposed transaction.

The Feb. 5 filing also states that the companies will not accept the conditions included in an order issued by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in late January to successfully transfer the 1,300-MW Pleasants coal plant from Allegheny Energy Supply Co. to Mon Power two weeks after FERC rejected the transfer.

The companies contended the "certain significant conditions" set in the commission's approval would result in Mon Power assuming exposure and significant commodity risk, which does not fall in line with FirstEnergy's corporate strategy. (West Virginia PSC docket 17-0296-E-PC)

Solar United Neighbors of West Virginia and the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, represented by Earthjustice, challenged FirstEnergy's proposal at both FERC and the PSC. Had the acquisition gone through, an average residential electric customer would have seen a bill increase of approximately $69 annually for the next 15 years, Earthjustice said, citing a study done for it by consulting firm RunnerStone LLC. The study concluded electricity costs for local businesses would have increased over $230 million over the next 15 years and schools and hospitals would have seen substantially higher electric bills as well.