FAIRMONT, W.Va. – FirstEnergy, the parent company of Mon Power, has announced a $142 million plan to conduct environmental upgrades to the company’s power plants in north central West Virginia.
Will Boye, a company spokesperson, said that FirstEnergy/Mon Power filed a rate-increase request with The Public Service Commission to help fund the work at Fort Martin Power Station in Morgantown and Harrison Power Station in Lumberport.
“The initial impact for the average residential customer would be about 51-cents per month and that would start in 2024,” Boye said.
The work will bring both stations into compliance with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. It will also extend the service lives of both plants over the next decade.
“It would include wastewater treatment projects to meet the EPA’s guidelines on effluent limitation requirements,” Boye said.
The Public Service Commission will rule on the request for rate increases by the middle 2022.
“The deadline for these is the end of 2025, so these projects will help us comply with those environmental laws and the plants will operate on a cleaner basis,” Boye said.
Both power plants were in service from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. They have a life expectancy of 60 years. Commission review and approval would be required for the future retirement of either facility. The two plants combine to produce 3,080 megawatts.
“This is really the best option, the economic choice for our customers and the state,” Boye said. “Otherwise the replacement for the plants would be very high.”
The work will also create local economic activity and skilled labor jobs.
“We will work with outside vendors and these projects will create new construction jobs in West Virginia, so that’s certainly a positive,” Boye said.